Africa: AfricaFocus Update Note, 12/23/07
Africa: AfricaFocus Update Note
AfricaFocus Bulletin
Dec 23, 2007 (071223)
Editor's Note
AfricaFocus Bulletin will be taking a break from publication for
the holidays and for year-end software updates. The next issue will
appear in mid-January.
Seasons's greetings to readers and friends and best wishes for the
new year for you, your families, and your work for a just and
peaceful Africa and world.
I hope that you have found AfricaFocus Bulletin useful over the
past year. Thanks to those of you who have supported the
publication with your voluntary subscription payments this year.
As you know, AfricaFocus is provided to readers free. But it
depends on readers who value the work and are able and willing to
provide support. To send in a voluntary payment, via Google
Checkout, Paypal, or through the mail (AfricaFocus Bulletin, PMB
540, 3509 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008-2470), visit
http://www.africafocus.org/support.php
This update provides, for your reference over the break from
publication and in the new year, some tips on using the AfricaFocus
website, which is available continuously. It also includes brief
update notes on two other projects in which I have been actively
involved this year, the recently released book "No Easy Victories"
(http://www.noeasyvictories.org) and the Aluka Digital Library
(http://www.aluka.org).
++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++++++++
AfricaFocus Website
In November AfricaFocus Bulletin marked 4 years of publication. All
304 issues are available on http://www.africafocus.org, accessible
both through a custom search and through pages organized by date,
country, and a series of topical categories. New in 2007 are
AfricaFocus Plus, a search that includes both AfricaFocus and 8
other recommended sites; specialized topical pages on information
technology and agriculture, and a search of selected high-quality
sites on information technology in Africa.
AfricaFocus Plus Search Page
http://www.africafocus.org/plus/search1.php
AfricaFocus Country Pages
(including both issues and a rich array of other links)
http://www.africafocus.org/country/countries.php
AfricaFocus Bulletins in chronological order
http://www.africafocus.org/chr.php
AfricaFocus Bulletins by country
http://www.africafocus.org/geo.php
AfricaFocus Bulletins by topic
http://www.africafocus.org/topic.php
AfricaFocus Bulletins on Specific Topics
Health: http://www.africafocus.org/healthexp.php
Peace and conflict: http://www.africafocus.org/peaceexp.php
Politics and human rights: http://www.africafocus.org/polexp.php
Economy and development: http://www.africafocus.org/econexp.php
Debt: http://www.africafocus.org/debtexp.php
Trade: http://www.africafocus.org/tradexp.php
ICT: http://www.africafocus.org/ictexp.php (also includes custom
search of other ICT sites)
Agriculture: http://www.africafocus.org/agexp.php
No Easy Victories
"No Easy Victories: African Liberation and American Activists over
a Half Century, 1950-2000," edited by William Minter, Gail Hovey,
and Charles Cobb, Jr., with chapters by Lisa Brock, Mimi Edmunds,
Joseph Jordan, David Goodman, and Walter Turner.
"We were part of a worldwide movement that continues today to
redress the economic and social injustices that kill body, mind,
and spirit. No Easy Victories makes clear that our lives and
fortunes around the globe are indeed linked." - Nelson Mandela
Order for $25.50 (15% discount), plus shipping & handling, from
http://www.noeasyvictories.org - pay by Google Checkout, Paypal, or
mailing in a check.
The No Easy Victories website includes selected excerpts from the
book, as well as news on events related to the book. More excerpts
and transcripts of interviews, as well as links to other related
sites, will be added in 2008.
Aluka
The Aluka Digital Library (http://www.aluka.org, for which I have
served as a consultant on international collections related to the
history of freedom struggles in Southern Africa, came online in
2007. Still in its early stages, it already has a very substantial
set of resources available that are of likely interest to
AfricaFocus readers. There are now three content areas: African
plants, African cultural heritage sites, and the history of freedom
struggles in Southern Africa. Additional materials are being added
regularly, and efforts are continuing to improve accessibility
under low-bandwidth conditions.
Access is free to non-profit institutions in Africa, and free (on
a trial basis until mid-year) to academic institutions worldwide
who subscribe to the JSTOR on-line journals archive. On an ongoing
basis, access by institutions outside Africa will be based on a
sliding participation fee based on the library budget of the
participating institution. While individual access is not yet
available, this option is in the plans for the coming year.
Aluka is prioritizing and encouraging the participation of "all
institutions of higher education, secondary schools, public
libraries, and other not-for-profit research and government
institutions located in Africa."
For more information, including listings of resources already
available, visit http://www.aluka.org. For a fuller explanation of
the process and plans of the content area on the history of
liberation struggles, see
http://www.aluka.org/page/content/struggles.jsp
To view the terms and to sign up an African institution for free
access, visit http://www.aluka.org/action/sendContactInfo
For access for institutions outside Africa, visit
http://www.aluka.org/page/join/agreement.jsp or contact Aluka
Library Relations (participation@aluka.org).
from africafocus@igc.org
date Dec 23, 2007 12:48 PM
subject Africa: AfricaFocus Update Note
Page Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D.