Libraries

View our library collections here.

Make an appointment 

 

Research and Documentation Centre

The Research and Documentation Centre contains:

  • Ethnography works
  • Social anthropology works
  • Publications of the RMCA
  • General works on Africa, particularly Central Africa, reference works and bibliographies.

Contact:
crc@africamuseum.be

Archaeology library

Library specialising in the archaeology of sub-Saharan Africa. 

History library

Please note that due to institutional reorganisation consulting some items of the History Library is suspended until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience. We remain at your disposal should you have any questions.

The History Library has a collection of documents on the history of Africa and in particular the DR Congo, Rwanda and Burundi (16th-21st centuries).

The collection mainly covers exploration, colonisation (particularly Belgian colonisation) and decolonisation, and themes concerning current historical, sociological, memorial and artistic issues.

It contains 14,000 references: 

  • General and specialist works
  • Periodicals and reviews
  • Rare and valuable works, particularly atlases, geographical descriptions and travel writings 
  • Offprints
  • Theses and dissertations

> Online catalogue of the History Library

 

Library of Independent Congo

The library has an extensive collection of documents on the political, social and economic developments of the DR Congo from decolonisation (end of the 1950s) through to the present day. 

It comprises:

  • restricted or limited-availability documents
  • newspapers (including six newspapers that are currently published in Kinshasa) and periodicals 
  • files of press clippings
  • election posters for the 2006 Congolese elections
  • listed periodical articles
  • a variety of documents
  • theses and dissertations
  • maps.

The majority of these documents are now available in digital format. The database currently contains 33,000 references (listing all acquisitions - works, periodical articles, theses, dissertations, documents, archives, headlines from Congolese newspapers - since 1984). 

A daily updated version of the catalogue is available on-site.

> Online catalogue of the Library of Independent Congo

Contact:
Lore Van de Broeck
lore.van.de.broeck@africamuseum.be 
Tel: (+32) 02 769 58 45

African Linguistics Library

Books and periodicals dedicated to the oral literature and linguistics of sub-Saharan Africa:

  • grammar, lexicons, linguistic maps
  • comparative or historical linguistics, classification
  • vehicular languages, linguistic interchange
  • teaching manuals
  • epics, stories, proverbs, etc.
  • bibliographies

The Bantu and Mande groups are particularly well documented.

The digital catalogue contains some 2,800 works and articles. 

The library contains more than 11,000 references. 

Musicology library

Specialist library concerning the music of Africa and particularly Central Africa.

Vertebrates

We have four specialist libraries:

  • ichthyology
  • ornithology
  • mammalogy
  • herpetology

View the library catalogues

Location: CAPA building (map)

Contact:
Annelore Nackaerts
annelore.nackaerts@africamuseum.be
+32 2 769 56 39

Invertebrates

We have two specialist libraries:

  • entomology
  • non-insect invertebrates

They contain books, periodicals and reprints. 

View the library catalogues

Contact:

Myriam Vandenbosch
myriam.vandenbosch@africamuseum.be
+32 2 769 53 67

Wood biology and agricultural economy

View the library catalogues

Contact:
Michael Monnoye
michael.monnoye@africamuseum.be

Earth Sciences

Our library contains a number of Earth Sciences reference materials:

  • geological works and periodicals of general and specialist interest
  • publications and reports from Africa or concerning Africa
  • unique scientific works.

View the geology library catalogue