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Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies

Arabic manuscript
Established in 1954, the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University is the largest separate Africana collection in existence. Its scope is as wide as the continent of Africa itself; its subject matter ranges from art, history, literature, music, science, technology and religion to communications, engineering, management and cooking. The Africana collection is a resource for the entire university, and most of Northwestern's disciplinary programs are reflected in the collection. In addition to serving the NU community, the Herskovits Library also serves regional, national and international scholars.

Visit the Herskovits Library

Location

University Library,  5th floor, 1970 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208

Contact

Call 847-467-3084 or email africana@northwestern.edu.

Reference assistance is available in the Herskovits Library from 8:30 am - 5 pm, Monday through Friday.

Start Your Research

Use Africana NUsearch to locate specific titles, or narrow your search to materials from images, our Arabic Manuscripts or our Africana Posters.

Search the Africana Collection

See the African Studies Research Guides for information about specific resources, such as articles, reference material, primary resources and dissertations and theses.

Herskovits Library, by the Numbers

The collection includes:  

  • 400,000 volumes, including 20,000 books in African languages
  • 2,800 current serials and 250 current newspapers
  • Archival and manuscript collections, and more than 6,000 non-circulating rare books and
  • Extensive collections of ephemera, maps, posters, videos, and photographs
  • Electronic resources for the study of Africa