European Librarians in African Studies (ELIAS)

Image: 2015 ELIAS meeting at Bibliothèque universitaire des langues et civilisations (BULAC) in Paris, H. Bergenthum

European Librarians in African Studies (ELIAS) is an informal network for all librarians, archivists, documentalists or other information professionals working with materials from and about Africa in institutions within Europe. ELIAS’s members work in a variety of institutions including libraries, archives, organisations, NGOs etc. 

The aims of ELIAS are: 

• To promote information and accessibility of African resource materials of any kind;
• To promote exchange and cooperation amongst its members;
• To promote exchange and cooperation with those in other countries, particularly in Africa, with similar concerns;
• To provide activities, platforms and tools to achieve its aims and objectives.

The ELIAS network was established in 2005 by Africanist librarians based in the UK. The network meets once a year at one of its member institutions to exchange knowledge and information on African resource materials. 

Past ELIAS meetings have been held in Leiden (2007), Paris (2008), Leipzig (2009), London (2010), Uppsala (2011), Basel (2012), Lisbon (2013), Frankfurt (2014), Paris (2015), Tervuren (2016), Basel (2017), Vienna (2018), Edinburgh (2019), Bordeaux (2022), Cologne (2023) and London (2024). The 2020 annual meeting was held online.  For more information about the ELIAS meetings in the past see the ELIAS webpage. http://eliasnet.pbworks.com/w/page/25672398/FrontPage

The 2025 ELIAS meeting will be held in Prague, Náprstek Museum, on Tuesday 24 June 2025. The theme will be “African collections – from collecting to sharing and repatriating”. More information: see attached PDF.  Registration: Fee (including coffee and lunch breaks, dinner) 50 Euro.

If you are interested in joining the ELIAS network, please send an email to Sophia Thubauville, Thubauville@em.uni-frankfurt.de