Introduction to Special Issue: African Electronic Publishing

Most African-studies scholars are aware that electronic publishing plays an increasingly important role in our field. When we at Africa Today decided to publish a special issue on electronic publishing, several ideas about the topic connected. Almost everybody has used Africa-related web portals or has accessed African journal literature full-text online. Many researchers know about digital projects that are implemented at various institutions in the United States or Europe, often in collaboration with African counterparts, and most of us have attended conference panels where reference has been made to electronic projects and publications. And yet, when asked about the topic, Africanists commonly respond that, while electronic publishing is perceived to be of increasing importance and proliferating, most Africanists feel that they only know a small fraction of what is available online, that they do not have an overview, and, more importantly, that they are not sure how to find out what is available, particularly since there are no union lists or other catalogs. There seems to be a more or less vague notion that many electronic publications exist, and that, while many scholars may have questions about their quality, it would be useful to have access to this body of literature.

The goal of this special issue is to present an overview of electronic publishing in African studies. We define the term electronic publishing in a wide sense and include websites, digitization projects, databases with journal content online, electronic projects created by individuals, institutions, NGOs, and so on. Similarly, African studies is understood to encompass the study of Africa internationally, referring to content created both within and without Africa, by scholars worldwide.

All the authors contributing to this issue are involved with electronic publishing—either as Africana librarians whose job it is to provide access and who, by virtue of their profession, have knowledge of existing projects and deal with them daily; or as "practitioners" who have developed electronic content; or a combination of both. Looked at as a whole, the articles present a picture of the state of electronic publishing in African studies today.

Merely listing and describing projects would cover only part of this topic. The fact that African-studies content is available in electronic format does not ensure equal access to it worldwide. As has been demonstrated in a bandwidth survey described in the article by Miner and Missen in this issue as well as in other publications, many Africans do not have affordable and reliable access to the internet, and it has been pointed out that, unless the approach to internet development takes into account socioeconomic and cultural factors, electronic publications may increase instead of decrease the digital divide between Africa and the North (see discussion in Peter Limb's paper in this issue). Another goal of this special issue, then, is to place the projects and initiatives described in the articles in the complex context of current discussions about the ethics of digitization, cultural imperialism, globalization, and the digital divide between the North and South, as well as within African countries.

The first article in this issue, by Africana librarian Peter Limb, outlines trends that have emerged in electronic publishing over the last years. He paints a picture of increasing digital content about and from Africa, providing access to journal literature, rare documents, textbooks, and other resources. He describes various initiatives and partnerships, but also discusses related issues of intellectual property, and of political and economic factors and how they are affecting the future development of electronic content. He concludes by suggesting that free open access to digital content for users in Africa is the only way to ensure access for African users, while there needs to be a balance between open access and subscription-based models for countries in the North to ensure sustainability of such projects.

While Limb presents an overview of electronic projects that encompasses Africa and the North, international studies bibliographer Edward Miner and Cliff Missen, Director of WiderNet, in...