|
|
Madagascar
|
Directory Information
|
Madagascar (Madagasikara), an island republic, lies in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. Population (1990 est.) 11,197,000; area 587,041 sq.km. The official languages are Malagasy and French.
History
Madagascar's indigenous culture is essentially Indonesian, with Arabic and Islamic contributions. The London Missionary Society introduced printing in the 1820s, and the Merina dialect, in the Roman alphabet, became the official language. There is a rich written literature in the Malagasy language, which is of the Malyo-Polynesian stock, borrowings from Bantu and Arabic as well as French and English.
Manuscripts in Arabic script have been preserved by the peoples of the southeast. The main libraries and other cultural institutions are in the capital, Tananarive (Antananarivo), where they reflect the influence of the French. Madagascar was a French colony, 1896-1945, and a member of the French Union 1946-58.
National Library
The National Library, instituted in 1961 following the country's independence in 1960, inherited the collection of 86,000 volumes from the Library of the former General Government, created in Tananarive in 1920. The Library received its works thanks to legal deposit while acting as a public library for the capital as well as a documentation center for research. From 1961 to 1973 the National Library, while fulfilling its former roles, served as national center for the promotion of books and reading and libraries. The extension of these activities led to the creation of the National Library Service in 1973. The Library Service consists of a division for the promotion of books and reading whose main role is promoting the art of writing, the rights of authors, publishing, and the pleasure of reading. It also publishes the national bibliography. The National Library is the other element; it has a collection of 170,000 printed books, manuscripts, periodicals, photos, and maps. It continues to receive printed works thanks to legal deposit; it assures the conservation of national patrimony-, and it plays an important role as a public and research library because of its extensive collection on Madagascar. A new building for the service was inaugurated in 1982.
University Library
The University of Madagascar in Tananarive has a Library that specializes in the disciplines of the University. It was created in 1960 and has a collection of 180,000 works. Following decentralization of the University, five regional centers were attached to it, the oldest being the Toliara Center.
Public and School Libraries
A program to promote public libraries in the Fivondronana (subregional constituencies grouping several former communes) was launched in 1978 and was to proceed gradually over several years. It consists of stimulating the former municipal libraries and former information centers and creating new libraries: 57 small units operated in 1984. The Library Service ensures the technical training of personnel.
Furthermore, about 300 units of small libraries operate through the country. They are school libraries supported by funds from school cooperatives or private funds, or firm and association libraries. Their collections vary: most range between 1,000 and 6,000 volumes.
Special Libraries
The Malagasy Academy Library in Tananarive, created in 1905, is a specialized library in language, literature, art, social and political sciences, and fundamental and applied sciences. It had a collection of 33,000 works in the mid-1980s and received 30 periodicals. It also exchanges materials with other library systems.
Research institutions, such as the National Center of Oceanographic Research, the National Center of Pharmacological Research, and the National Center of Applied Research in Rural Development, offer studies, reports, and results of research concerning the country. Government ministries and departments, such as Education, Agriculture, Information, Health, Justice, Industry, Economy, Telecommunication, Public Works, Development Planning, and Defense also have special libraries; most consist of 2,000 to 7,000 volumes.
The Profession
The Malagasy Books Office in Tananarive, an association created in 1971 by a few librarians, publishes and diffuses works tending to develop the pleasure of reading, promotes a book policy on a national scale, and serves as a center of information concerning books and as a resource for writers. The Association of Archivists, Librarians, Documentalists, and Musicologists was formed in September 1976.
Libraries and Archives
Bibliotheque Nationale: Anosy, BP 257, Antananarivo; tel. 258-72; 210, 489 vols.
Bibliotheque du Centre Culturel 'Albert Camus': 14 ave de I'independence, BP 488, Antananarivo; 22,000 vols.
Sources:
|