Library
The library of the African Studies Centre Leiden is a research library, which is also open to the general public. The library consists of a digital and a paper library. The digital library gives access to an unlimited number of publications, the paper library holds 91,000 books about and from Africa, 90,000 journal articles and 1,700 films on DVD.
In line with university measures, ASCL staff will work from home and can be reached by email. The Secretariat can be reached by email (asc@asc.leidenuniv.nl) or phone (+31 (0)71 527 3372). The library is open (reservation compulsory).
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The Library of the African Studies Centre of Leiden University is open for visitors - reservation by e-mail is compulsory. Studying in the ASCL Library will be possible during time slots of maximum 3 hours. Please remember that face masks are mandatory when you enter, leave and move around in the building. Read all about the new regulations.
To mark the conferring of an honorary doctorate on human rights and child rights activist Graça Machel on 8 February 2021, the ASCL Library has compiled this web dossier on children’s rights in Africa. The dossier includes titles from the ASCL Library collection, extended with sources available through the broader Leiden University Library collection. The dossier is introduced by Ton Liefaard, professor of Children's Rights at Leiden University. Read the web dossier.
Newspapers from Africa are among the hardest items to collect systematically. Therefore, the ASCL is happy to supply access to yet another small collection of (print) newspapers from Somalia. The Swedish publisher SCANSOM, long active in the field of Somali publications, has digitised and republished fourteen volumes of mainly English, and some Somali language newspapers. The newspapers were originally published in the period 1961-1987, an important period of time just after Somali independence. Read more in the latest Library Highlight!
The COVID-19 pandemic in Africa has, as in other parts of the world, an enormous impact on all aspects of life. A vast body of literature is developing on the COVID-19 outbreak in Africa and its social, economical, and political consequences. This ‘growing’ web dossier keeps track of new scientific publications on this subject. Also links to relevant web resources will be included. In the coming year, it will be regularly updated. Read the web dossier.
