HANS ZELL PUBLISHING
[T/A Hans Zell Publishing Consultants]


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What reviewers say about Hans Zell publications

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From reviews of Africa: A Guide to Reference Material, 2nd revised and expanded edition (print only, published April 2007) 

 

"… McIlwaine has meticulously organized a vast array of information resources on Africa into a comprehensive guide for researchers … All collections on Africa should have this excellent book as a guide to collection development and research. Any library serving researchers with interest in Africa should strongly consider it. … Essential."  CHOICE


"…The compiler's annotations are extremely helpful … The first edition of this work originated from teaching area studies bibliography at University College London over many years. Like its predecessor, this second edition is a magisterial guide that is essential for all libraries whose users have a serious interest in Africa."
Library + Information Update (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals/CILIP, UK)


"This second edition of Africa: A Guide to Reference Material builds on the scholarship and research of the original and will be an essential purchase for all libraries supporting African studies at any level … all larger research focussed collections, even where Africa is not a focus, should purchase. African studies is well served, perhaps uniquely served, by a fine collection of current reference guides, with McIlwaine the central pillar."
Reference Reviews 


The second edition of John McIlwaine’s Africa: A Guide to Reference Material brings the work of the well-received first edition up-to-date. It has 3,600 entries, more than double the number in the first edition... an essential addition to any reference collection in a research library.
Africana Libraries Newsletter (Africana Librarians Council of the [US] African Studies Association)
Full text of review at http://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/african/ALN121/
121bookreviews.html


" AGRM2 has attempted perfection: it is a meticulously compiled reference source."
Focus on International Library and Information Work (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals/CILIP, UK)


… updates a classic reference work … The new edition is greatly expanded and has some 3,600 entries most of which carry evaluative annotations … The quality of the annotations is excellent. … The Guide is another fine book and a core reference work from Hans Zell Publishing.
Innovation. Journal of Appropriate Librarianship and Information Work in Southern Africa 


"… this new edition is an outstanding reference resource."
African Research & Documentation. Journal of the Standing Conference on Library Materials on Africa (SCOLMA)


"This work greatly expands and updates [the author’s] first edition published in 1993 and is a remarkable achievement. … as close to comprehensive treatment of African country resources as we are ever likely to see … a first-rate reference work deserving of a place in every library for advanced research." 
H-Net Book Review. H-SAfrica
Full text of review at http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.cgi?path=
200011191172996


… I salute this work and encourage librarians, news media sources and scholars to pay close attention to all such works, and demand their purchase for public and educational libraries." 
AllAfrica.com Washington
Full text of review at
http://allafrica.com/stories/200706210934.html


Die Empfehlung der vorhergehenden Rezension [of 1st ed.] kann wiederholt werden: ein vorzüglicher Führer zu Informationsmitteln über Schwarzafrika, der in keiner grossen Bibliothek fehlen sollte.
Informationsmittel für Bibliotheken


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From reviews of The African Studies Companion: A Guide to Information Sources, 4th revised and expanded edition (print & online, published May 2006) 

 

 

“… Provides librarians and researchers with access and guidance to a wealth of information resources… The annotations are clear and informative, and the recommended items marked as "editor's choice of a particularly outstanding" source are reliable. Overall, this is an excellent work that enables non-specialist libraries to provide access to a wide array of African information sources at a reasonable cost. Online access is bundled with purchase of the print edition. Highly recommended.
CHOICE   “CHOICE OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC TITLE – 2006”

 


"… an excellent reference tool. The qualities that distinguished the earlier editions and produced widespread critical acclaim have been maintained and enhanced with the chapter on using Google and the consolidation of the Web version particularly valuable features. … All libraries with a serious interest in Africa have no option but to purchase this essential work, even if the third edition of just three years previously is in stock. Other general libraries serving those engaged on advanced study that may touch on African topics should also consider purchase. The published price of £148 seems eminently reasonable, especially given the bundled electronic access with regular updating."
Reference Reviews 


… very user-friendly, a delight to use. The technical production is excellent … as a guide and starting point to African Studies, this is an excellent resource. … This book is the best of its kind anywhere; the website up there with the best. New editions are promised every three years, which should help further mainstream this wonderful, practical, and convenient Companion, which I cannot recommend more highly, whether for libraries, institutes, publishers, African Studies administrators, or scholars.
African Research & Documentation. Journal of the Standing Conference on Library Materials on Africa (SCOLMA),


 

The 4th edition of what is by now the recognized standard reference guide to information on African studies truly lives up to its “revised and expanded” billing. … Its broad geographic and subject coverage, detailed evaluative annotations, extensive cross-referencing, and user friendliness are just some of the features that make it a highly recommended reference tool for the beginning and experienced researcher, the seasoned and budding Africanist, and anyone interested in an environmental scan of the information landscape on Africa.
Africana Libraries Newsletter (Africana Librarians Council of the [US] African Studies Association),
Full text of review at
http://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/african/aln119bookrev.html 


The new expanded edition is truly magisterial in its scope and detail. There is nothing else like it. … Each entry is annotated and evaluated. … in a different league from the many cobbled-together bibliographies in area studies. … It is recommended not simply as a reference tool but as a commentary. It is a service not only to researchers and librarians, but to Africa itself.
Library + Information Update (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals/CILIP, UK)  


"… continues Hans Zell's fine tradition of guiding scholars to print and electronic sources on African studies. … The work consolidates and expands successful features of earlier editions, for example, by providing more evaluative annotations and identifying outstanding online resources. … The online version offers even more flexible navigation through the entries and the wealth of information contained in this rich resource on African studies."
H-Net Online. H-SAfrica Net 
Full text of review at
http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?
path=254761188588469
  


"…a pleasure to search and browse. This companion does much to dispel the picture of Africa as the dark continent-rather Hans Zell reveals a fascinating array of detailed knowledge about books, journals, magazines, associations, research foundations and institutions of learning, publishing and critical reviews. … The name Hans Zell has long been synonymous with excellence in bibliography. This edition continues the tradition and continues to inform and delight. The Companion is essential for any library."
The African Book Publishing Record 


… comes in both print and electronic format and is unique in that it covers such a broad range of topics … Do not be daunted by the book’s 864 pages. This book is extremely handy and easy to use. … great for students, scholars, educators, researchers, and anyone interested in Africa. It’s one of those books you keep on your desk, to be relied on often.
www.allafrica.com/books
Full text of review at
http://allafrica.com/stories/200609290808.html


…an exceptional resource. … Anyone who wants to learn more about Africa as a professional, student, or amateur will find it useful. … Zell provides annotations that are substantial and full of insights into the usefulness of each source. … Hans Zell deserves high praise for this volume and for the many other bib­liographic resources he has provided to his African studies colleagues for more than thirty years. The work belongs in the collections of most libraries as well as those of many government agencies, companies, non­profit organizations, and individuals.
African Studies Review (African Studies Association, USA)


… most entries are followed by annotations, which are evaluative rather than descriptive, allowing the user to weigh up the value of a resource. … The online edition is fully searchable, but it is equally easy to find one’s way around the print version … an essential reference work for all national and academic libraries in Africa and those with African studies courses or interests elsewhere in the world. It would be necessary to consult many other books and databases to find the information that has been so conveniently gathered together in this one volume.
Focus on International Library and Information Work (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, CILIP, UK)  
Full text of review at http://www.cilip.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/
3F5DEE5A-BBE5-4056-BAF8-90F415222973/0/focus3722006.pdf


Hans Zell continues to produce high-quality reference books. This one deserves a place in most academic and general research libraries.
Canadian Journal of African Studies 


… the fourth edition of the guide is a vast source of information, and it serves the needs of a wide variety of people and organizations, including higher education institutes, libraries, researchers, writers … Hans Zell has done excellent work in compiling and arranging a huge amount of valuable information that has no parallel.
Nordic Journal of African Studies (Nordic Association of African Studies)
Full text of review at http://www.njas.helsinki.fi/ 


Le Companion de Hans Zell nous donne les adresses de tout ce que nous pouvons obtenir de l’Afrique et sur l’Afrique en utilisant Internet, qui est le point fort de cet ouvrage. … surtout permettent à l’étudiant de commencer son travail de recherche en le guidant d’une manière remarquablement pédagogique et directe: c’est là le point central et peut-être le plus difficile à faire percevoir dans notre pays du fait de la difficulté de nombreux étudiants à travailler en anglais. … La partie la plus originale de ce nouvel ouvrage est un guide d’une cen­taine de pages sur l’utilisation de Google pour des recherches africanistes; c’est remarquablement commode et astucieux.
Études Littéraires Africaines (Association pour l’Étude des Littératures Africaines) December 2006


"… the most comprehensive reference source of its kind. Its usefulness is further enhanced by its online version, which is conveniently searchable and is regularly updated." 
Research in African Literatures 


 

 

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Reading in Sub-Saharan 
Africa: A Critical 
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Africa: A Guide to
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The African Studies Companion: A Guide to Information Sources
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Using Google for 
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HANS ZELL PUBLISHING [T/A Hans Zell Publishing Consultants]
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Glais Bheinn   Lochcarron   Ross-shire   IV54 8YB Scotland   UK
Telephone: +44-(0)1520-722951   
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