|
|
Liberia
|
Directory Information
|
Liberia, a republic in western Africa, is bordered by
Sierra Leone and Guinea on the north, Ivory Coast on
the east, and the Atlantic Ocean an the south and west.
Population (1990 est.) 2,607,000; area 11,369 sq.km.
The official language is English.
History
Prior to the presence of books and
recorded materials in Liberia, signs, symbols, palm
kernels, and the making of rice farms were used for
commercial purposes and determining births and
deaths and keeping records among the people of the
hinterland. The age of a person, for example, was
determined by the number of rice farms made; story
telling was the only way of preserving oral and
traditional history.
The history of the Vai Tribe shows that in the
18th century Dawlu Bokele, who lived in the area of
Grand Cape Mount County, one of the political
subdivisions of Liberia, invented a form of syllabic
writing for the transmission of messages between
various ethnic groups. Carried by couriers, the messages
were attached to sticks that indicated the urgency
of the communications.
National Services
Liberia does not have a
national library. In 1978 legislation was passed by the
National Legislature creating a Center for National
Documents and Records, which merged the Public
Library System and Bureau of Archives. A newly
constructed archival building was dedicated in April
1984. In the absence of a national library, the Center
and academic libraries provide national leadership in
library development.
Academic Libraries
The University of
Liberia Libraries, established in 1862 in Monrovia, is a
national institution operated by the government.
Cuttington University College (1888), in Suacoco,
Bong County, is a private institution operated by the
Protestant Episcopal Church of Liberia.
The University of Liberia Library System maintains
six professional library reading rooms for law,
medicine, agriculture and forestry, engineering,
regional planning, and science. It holds a collection of
Africana and serves as depository center for the United
Nations, Unesco, and other international organizations,
Cuttington University College maintains a central library.
Sources:
|