X-Posted from H-NET List for African History and Culture
<H-AFRICA@H-NET.MSU.EDU>
From:  Jeremy Rich <jrich@MTSU.EDU>
_____________


Date: Tueday, 3 November 2009
From: Zacharia Nchinda <nchindaz@matc.edu>

I understand very well what librarians go through for both during my secondary
school days and as an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of
Yaoundé 1, Cameroon, I served many hours in the library. I volunteered for a
short while at the National Archives Buea and also made great use of the
National Archives Yaoundé.

    I think the debate you are attempting to raise is a good one and to
contribute to that I have a few questions to ask. Does it mean that because
"archivist, librarians and people like that in many African countries" endure
much to provide researchers with the valuable resources we need we should shy
away from mentioning how they work?

Could you have been happier if I mentioned only that generally, librarians and
archivist "will try to provide what you are looking for" and left out the fact
that some of workers were not dedicated? Do you think I am not doing justice in
seeking the very precious services of archivists and librarians while at the
same time identifying and mentioning what I find as deficient in their delivery
system? I hope not. Do you think that by criticizing some workers I am directly
providing "a valid reason [for researchers] not to recognize the invaluable
efforts that librarians and archivists put into serve us?" I hope not. If you
found similar situations as I describe in Kenya, Senegal, Sierra Leone and
France, then what is wrong with me informing an inquisitive researcher what to
expect in the field?

   By the way, before I allow myself to be carried away with the digression and
lure of "the larger picture of this issue" I want us to go back to base. What
advice do you have for the researcher who asked the original question? What can
you tell her "about getting research clearance to do field work in Cameroon?" 
Or which institutions can she contact? She needs our help in solving these
specific problems.

    I am pleased with the excitement my response has raise in you. I understand
very well the realities of the conditions under which some African archivists
and librarians work for I have been there and still do make use of their
priceless services.  Yet, I belief we should be a bit free to advise other
researchers what to expect.  It is only by acknowledging some of the challenges
in the field that researchers can be better prepared and may be, seek to
improve them. Thank you.

Zacharia Nchinda
MATC, Milwaukee

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