Preface to the 4th edition 

This information source builds on three previous editions of the African Studies Companion and the new fourth edition, like its predecessor, is again published both in print and in electronic formats. 

The new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, and once again substantially expanded. Although over 170 entries have been dropped, the page extent has almost doubled to that of the third edition, and the total number of entries has grown to more than 2,900. 

While fully updated and including a large number of new entries, the aim of this fourth edition remains essentially the same as that of previous editions: to provide a compact, timesaving, and annotated guide to print and electronic information sources, and to facilitate easy access to a wide range of information in the African studies field. The fully searchable electronic edition is regularly updated online to provide maximum currency.

Content is arranged in an expanded format of 25 main sections, many with several sub-sections, offering a wide array of specifics for most entries. As for previous editions, the majority of listings identify general (multidisciplinary) and current sources of information, primarily those in English, but organized from a wide international perspective.

Updating and verifying existing entries, particularly for online resources, journals, organizations, publishers, and libraries in Africa, has been a time-consuming task. Quite apart from changes in personnel and contact information, URLs and email addresses do change frequently, for example in the section relating to journals and magazines over 40 per cent of all Web sites had changed since publication of the last edition. There have also been a very large number of URL changes in the section on academic libraries in Africa, as many institutions moved from various host servers to their own new domains. 

Critical evaluation of sources
As in many other disciplines, there is now growing information overload on Africa and African studies in today's cyber world. This makes the need for critical evaluation evermore important, and annotations in the African Studies Companion are now more evaluative rather than purely descriptive.
As in the previous edition, attention is drawn to particularly outstanding online resources - in terms of depth of information, currency, utility and functionality, and good navigation features - by highlighting them with a symbol. 

Some of the annotations of recently published print reference works draw on a series of book reviews published by the Editor in the section "New reference sources of note" in the quarterly African Book Publishing Record (384).

Prices and subscription rates/Publishers' online catalogues
Prices of all book titles in print format have been updated if they are still available from the publishers. However, Web links to specific title information on publishers' Web sites and online catalogues are no longer included as the URLs change far too frequently.

Subscription prices for African studies journals, some of which continue to escalate at an alarming rate, have also been fully updated with current (2005) rates. 

Online vs. print
There are obvious advantages in maintaining a fully searchable electronic edition of the African Studies Companion, with hundreds of click-through Web links to external links and email addresses, extensive cross-referencing with hyperlinks, and regular online updating. Moreover, providing information as an online resource allows multiple users to access the contents concurrently, and from a place of their own choosing. However, we will continue to publish in both print and online formats. A well-organized, compact, and portable print reference work that pulls together a broad range of information otherwise available only through consultation of many separate sources, is still the best reference tool for many users. As Jill Young-Coelho, Librarian for sub-Saharan Africa at Harvard University, has stated in her essay "Once, Present (and Always?) Africana Acquisitions Strategies" (1900) "…print has its advantages. It sits quietly on a table, can be consulted backward and forward by merely flipping pages, does not crash, and does not require a connection of any sort." She goes on to say, bearing in mind libraries in Africa, "this last advantage is an important one for libraries without reliable Internet access. The original browsing can be done in the book, and online time can be focused on a few sources."

What is new in this edition?
There are 475 entirely new entries in existing sections, of which over 180 are new online resources, 48 new print reference works (and a small number of microfiche or CD-ROM products), 86 new (or newly included) African studies journals, plus over 70 new entries for publishers with African studies and African literature lists, of which 47 are African publishers. Additionally, there are a substantial number of new entries in most other sections-including those listing libraries, dealers and distributors of African studies material, vendors of African films and videos, international organizations, NGOs, networks, societies, associations, and more. The editorial closing date for inclusion of new entries was the end of October 2005.

Among the over 80 new entries for journals there are 46 new entries for African-published serials. African journals seem to be enjoying a period of resurgence, with a number of exciting new literary and cultural magazines such as Kwani? (Kenya), Chirumenga magazine (South Africa), or the print and online Farafina Magazine (Nigeria) launched in 2005. Additionally, several high-quality scholarly journals have started publication in Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and in Uganda. A significant and much welcome new initiative was the launch of the CODESRIA-published Africa Review of Books, the first issue of which appeared in early 2005.

Additionally, some other African scholarly serials have been given a new lease of life: for example, an important journal, Quest. An African Journal of Philosophy, originally published in Zambia over several years (albeit irregularly), has been resuscitated and is now re-appearing from the Netherlands. The annual Lagos Notes & Records is another of the long-established journals which have been restarted. These are all welcome developments, and it is to be hoped that the journals will receive the necessary support - by way of library orders or subscription renewals - to help them to survive instead of becoming dormant yet again.

New sections
This fourth edition contains two entirely new sections, which we hope will further enhance the utility of the African Studies Companion: 

(1) 11 The African press provides essential information for over 250 of the continent's leading newspapers and news weeklies, as well listing African news and press agencies; (2) 14 Centres of African studies and African studies programmes and courses worldwide, a directory of over 300 entries, which also lists the leading African American/Black Studies programmes in the USA, which include African studies and/or African arts, literatures and cultures as a component of their Master's, Bachelor's or certificate degrees programmes. 
While there are many Web pages with links to electronic African newspapers - albeit some rather patchy in coverage, or lacking currency - as well as Web links to African studies teaching and research, courses and programmes, there are currently no up-to-date resources in print format. There have been no further editions of the African Studies Association's (2755) Directory of African & Afro-American Studies in the United States, last published in an eight edition in 1993, but now so dated that it has been dropped from this edition of the African Studies Companion. Likewise, there have not unfortunately been new editions of the International African Institute's (1622) excellent resource the International Directory of African Studies Research (274), last published in a third edition in 1994. 

We therefore hope that these two new sections, accessible both online and in print format, will help to fill a gap. 

Other new features

• A number of existing sections, for example online resources in Section 1, have been expanded and now include additional sub-sections.
  
• Extra contact names and email addresses have been added for some sections, for example for libraries and many organizations. 
  
• While content and scope is still principally restricted to multi-disciplinary sources, there are now also a small number of entries of more subject specific (but broad-based) online databases in some fields, for example in African arts, anthropology and ethnology, education, history, and religion. This is however restricted to online resources listed in Section 1.
  
• Section 6, covering statistical, economic and financial data, now also includes resources for African population statistics and social indicators. 
  
• In Section 9, Journals and magazines, links (the specific URLs) to African serials covered by AJOL (554) and SABINET Online (560) Web sites are now included.
  
• In Section 10, and in some other sections, there are links to RSS News feeds. Many news services and other information providers, as well as book and journal publishers and book review media, now offer delivery options by RSS/XML feeds, as do a small number of African journals and research institutions. Where available, a small button is included with the entry to indicate that RSS feeds are offered, together with the URL that links to it. Although the number of RSS feeds is still relatively small at this time, this will no doubt grow substantially in the years ahead. 
  
• Section 23, the annotated guide to Web sites and Internet documents on information and communication development in Africa, has been completely revised and updated. It is an area that is crucially important for the dissemination of African scholarship, but ICT in Africa is a quickly evolving landscape. Many articles and other documents published before 2002 are now dated and have been dropped, while details of a substantial number of important more recent studies, reports, and articles have been added, as has a new sub-section on digital libraries. 
  
• Using Google for African studies research: a guide to effective Web searching The new edition of the African Studies Companion includes an updated and condensed version of this popular guide, previously published in a pilot edition at http://www.hanszell.co.uk/google/.  Liberally interspersed with examples of searches and search strategies, the guide is designed to help the user get the most out of Google's Web searching techniques and at the same time providing a critical evaluation of Google's many Web search features, services and tools. The updated version now also devotes some space to new Google services launched since publication of the pilot edition, e.g. Google Scholar and Google Earth. The much longer pilot edition, which also includes a detailed analysis of Google Answers on African studies topics, will remain freely accessible, but will not be updated any longer.

Additional information regarding updates and revisions can be found in the explanatory notes on scope and content under individual sections.

Deletions
A total of 171 entries have been dropped for a variety of reasons: for example, because Web sites have either disappeared, have not been updated and lack currency, or current content no longer justifies inclusion.

Some entries for which it has not been possible to verify information, or current availability status, have been deleted. A number of reference tools published in print format have been dropped because they are now too dated and no new editions have appeared. However, a number of print reference resources of lasting value, although not re-issued in new editions, have been retained.

A few entries in the section on major African studies library collections have been dropped as online catalogue searches of these libraries revealed that the library no longer holds significant and current African studies resources. Sadly, there have also been a small number of deletions of specialist African studies libraries that have been closed, or whose collections have been integrated into larger institutional libraries. 

Future editions - UPDATE August 2010
New and fully updated editions of the African Studies Companion were originally scheduled to appear every three years, but a new 5th edition, originally planned for publication in 2009, has been further delayed, and will not now be published by Hans Zell Publishing. Negotiations are currently ongoing with another publisher who may wish to acquire rights to publish a 5th and future editions of the African Studies Companion, with the new 5th edition again to be published in both print and online formats, but the 6th and subsequent editions to be published in electronic format only. All purchasers of the current 4th edition who have registered for online access will be notified about the change in publisher as soon as agreement with the new publisher has been reached and an announcement can be made. 

Acknowledgements
In the preparation of both the print edition, as well as development of the database for the new electronic version, I wish to acknowledge the help and expertise provided by Sue Martin of Smart Internet Services, Helston, Cornwall. 

Hans M. Zell
Lochcarron, Wester Ross, Scotland
December 2005

Hans Zell Publishing [T/A Hans Zell Publishing Consultants]
Glais Bheinn · Lochcarron · Ross-shire IV54 8YB · Scotland · UK
Telephone: +44-(0)1520-722951
Email: hanszell@hanszell.co.uk  or hzell@btopenworld.com   
Web: www.hanszell.co.uk  or www.africanstudiescompanion.com