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Sub-Saharan Africa Newspapers

This guide provides an overview and listing of Sub-Saharan Africa newspapers available at the Library of Congress.

Introduction

The Library's collection of historical Sub-Saharan Africa newspapers is among the largest in the world. Ethiopian and Eritrean newspapers on microfilm, as well as titles in Arabic, are available in the African & Middle Eastern Division. Titles in Latin-scripts and listed in this guide, are available through the Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading Room. With coverage spanning from the early 19th century to the present, the Library holds more than 1,600 Sub-Saharan African newspaper titles in microfilm, print, and digital formats. Titles are in indigenous African languages such as Amharic, Tigrinya, Hausa, Somali, Kiswahili, Malagasy, and Sesotho among others and English, French, and Portuguese. The Library has transitioned from microfilming current newspaper issues to digitization. Access to digitized newspapers is through an onsite only rights-restricted platform.

The oldest titles available include Leselinyana la Lesutho (1863, Evangelical Church), South African Advertiser and Mail (1869, Cape Town), The East African Standard, Mombasa Times & Uganda Argus (Mombasa, 1905), Liberia Herald (1830, Monrovia, Liberia), The African Interpreter and Advocate (1882, Freetown, Sierra Leone), The Buluwayo Chronicle (1894, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe), The Gold Coast Aborigines (1898, Cape Coast Castle, Gold Coast/Ghana). Some of these early titles are available through our subscription database World Newspaper Archive and may be accessed from the Jefferson, Madison or Adams library buildings.

African Area Specialists

African area specialists develop the collections and compile research and topic guides to highlight Africana materials and collections in conjunction with other Library units. The specialists have developed expert knowledge of the collections and different regions of Africa and are available to consult with researchers. 

Edward Miner, Head, African Section, African & Middle Eastern Division
Contact information: [email protected] | Tel: (202) 707--2442 

Abdulahi Ahmed, Reference Librarian, African Section, African & Middle Eastern Division
Contact information: [email protected] | Tel: (202) 707-4176 

Bianna Ine-Ryan, Reference Librarian, African Section, African & Middle Eastern Division
Contact information: [email protected] | Tel: (202) 707-9621 

Florence Mugambi,  Reference Librarian, African Section, African & Middle Eastern Division
Contact information: [email protected] | Tel: (202) 707-0493 

Fentahun TirunehArea Specialist, African Section, African & Middle Eastern Division
Contact information: [email protected] | Tel: (202) 707-4163 

You may also use the Ask a Librarian service to contact us.