The Unit assists in the collection, documentation, materials and issues of indigenous knowledge which are either written by Africans or foreigners. The materials collected are either published or unpublished (theses, selected speeches of African legends and other proceedings). The Africana Collection is made up of books and materials on political, economic, cultural and social issues about Africa which is written by either African or foreign writers. The materials at the Ghana Collection are mainly books written by individual Ghanaians, books about Ghana written by foreigners as well as books published in Ghana. These include information such as historical, religious, political, health, educational and cultural records of Ghana.
Mandate
The mandate of the Africana Unit shall be to:
- Assist in the collection and documentation of materials dealing with indigenous knowledge
- Preserve books and materials on political, economic, cultural and social issues in relation to Africa which are written by either African or foreign writers.
- Keep books written by Ghanaians and about Ghana.
- Act as a depository for publications published in Ghana under the Book and Newspaper Registration Act of 1963 (Act193).
- Provide information on the usage statistics of its collections to be used to inform purchasing and renewal decisions
