Africa: Getting Started with Research

Locating Government Documents at the African Studies Library can sometimes take a bit of practice.  Quirks of library history and space restrictions have led to an unusual shelving arrangement.  Please always feel free to ask for assistance at the ASL reference desk; we are happy to help!  

There are two categories of goverment publications in our library: JDOCs (generally pre- 1982) and African Docs.  JDOCS and African Docs may be shelved either on the 6th floor general stacks or in the Reading Room, with smaller publications generally being housed in the reading room.  It therefore may be necessary to check both the general Mugar Stacks and the Reading Room to locate the desired item.

J Documents are government publications that were received by the library prior to 1982.   These materials are not listed in the BU Library Search and are not searchable online.  Instead, they are listed in a card catalog in the Reading Room.  J Documents may be found in two places: either in the 6th floor stack at the back (beyond the circulating books) or the unbound (ie smaller) JDOCS whiich are shelved in the Reading Room. 

African Documents 

These are the Government Documents that the library received after 1982.  These documents are listed in our online catalog and will have a location of African Studies Library Document Collection.