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The Ranfurly Library Service and the Textbooks for Africa Project

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2022

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On the 21st of April the Ranfurly Library Service (RLS) entered a new stage in its 30 year history with the launch of an ambitious new project, planned and executed with the support of (amongst others) the British Council and the Overseas Development Administration. The changes signalled by the launch of the ‘Textbooks for Africa Project” (TAP) did not come about overnight but this new scheme is a visible sign of the changes that all involved with RLS have been (and are still) striving for.

The single most important aim of RLS in the past few years has been the improvement of the quality of the books despatched. The most important factor by which we measure the quality of book selection is the degree to which books sent match the needs of the recipient. There are several ways in which we have been trying to improve this.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1988

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References

More detail on the development of RLS can be found in K.C. Harrison's article, ‘Books for developing countries: the Ranfurly contribution’, International library review 22 (1) 1988, 4551Google Scholar
Mabomba, R., ‘The development of librarianship in the Third World (ALP): an African point of view’ (Paper to IFLA Conference, Brighton, 1987, session 125)Google Scholar
Luvanda, E.A., ‘Ranfurly Library Service: a report on the extent of distribution of Ranfurly Library books in Tanzania’ (unpublished report prepared for the British Council, Dar es Salaam, December 1987, pp.8)Google Scholar
[My italics]. Williams, G.J., ‘Books in Zambia: the developing hunger’. African book publishing record 12 (4) 1986, 209Google Scholar
Obadina, T., ‘The Ife Book Fair’, West Africa 15 Feb 1988, 255Google Scholar
Read, A., A guide to textbook project design and preparation (Discussion Paper - Education and training series) World Bank, 1986, 28.Google Scholar
See the letter from Bryan Bennett, Chairman of the ELBS Subcommittee, The Times 26 Jan 1988.Google Scholar
Martin, C., letter, The Times 2 Jan 1988.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Read, A. op cit, 31.Google Scholar
Kirkwood, K., letter, The Times 18 Jan 1988.Google Scholar
Fong, Suyin BNIDE: Book Network for International Development and Education. Guide to networking. 3rd rev. ed. Ottawa, Canadian Organization for Development through Education, 1988. 37 pp. (ISBN 1 921416 00 8)Google Scholar
Williams, G.J., op cit, 205 and R. Mabomba, op cit, 10.Google Scholar
Maack, M.N., ‘The role of external aid in West African library development’, The library quarterly 56 (1) 1986, 14.Google Scholar