The Library of the Royal Commonwealth Society, founded in 1868, has built up a very substantial collection on Nigeria over the years, and therefore had a good basis on which to undertake responsibility for that country, under the SCOLMA scheme, in 1964. A progress report was made in April 1969 and published in Conference on the Acquisition of Material from Africa, I.D.C. 1969, pp.88-90, also R.C.S. Library Notes, new series No.152, August 1969. Many of the problems described therein still apply, but the following summary outlines the position at the close of 1975.

Though the main purpose of the scheme is to acquire material published in the country concerned, the Library endeavours to obtain significant material published outside Nigeria, and this is relatively easy.