The North-South cooperation presented here does not only concern libraries and librarians. It concerns cooperation within a network of institutions in which librarians are working and whose main objective is to promote the adoption of information and communication technologies by demographers in French-speaking Africa.

This cooperation was implemented between six demographic research centres of which five are located in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa and the other in Paris. Their activities are quite similar. Affiliated to national universities, they develop research activities in the area of population-development and train students in demography; most of them have a library managed by a professional. They are relatively small, with less than fifty employees (teachers, researchers and administrative staff) and welcome PhD students.

University partnerships are a growing focus of African Studies programmes, often underpinning much project rhetoric. Yet, the vagaries of funding and administration can render projects ineffective or less effective, projects that in any case often neglect libraries. This can be a fatal flaw in project planning because libraries in the North tend to form one of the, if not the, major nerve centres of a university; never more so than today, when the physical library ‘neurons’ now comprise not just books and journals but a mass of hardware and software. Some administrators make the mistake of imagining ‘the library’ only in terms of bricks and mortar, and neglect the crucial role of libraries and librarians in identifying, acquiring, classifying and making accessible a wide range of important information resources and related services. In most African countries, neglect of libraries due to limited resources and sometimes policy has had a baneful impact. Therefore, university development projects or partnerships on Africa that neglect libraries and information services do so at their own peril.

The 1998 University of Botswana Collection Development Policy compiled by J.O. Asamani, the then Acquisitions Coordinator, is explicit on materials generated through purchase. It is also clear on acceptance of gifts and donations. The policy was not specific on the collection of private archives even though it did not sanction the function. The whole process of collection development has since been narrowly confined to published collections and papers that are either published in journals or those that have been presented at workshops and conferences. It is the view of the present paper that for the sake of the interested user it is important for the collection development policy to stretch beyond published material.

The University of Botswana library has been in existence since 1971. The UB Library system consists of the main library on the Gaborone Campus and three branch libraries.

Mentoring as a concept has been in existence throughout the centuries. For instance, Socrates mentored Plato, Plato mentored Aristotle, and Aristotle mentored Alexander the Great. The Holy Bible is also full of information about mentoring practices. For example, Elijah mentored Elisha; Jesus Christ mentored His disciples and Paul did the same to Timothy. Mentoring is a sustained relationship between a youth (one who is professionally young) and an adult (experienced professional). This is achieved through a sustained involvement. In this case a more advanced and experienced librarian offers support, guidance, and assistance as the younger professional (librarian), goes through a difficult time, faces new challenges or works to correct earlier problems.

Nigeria with an estimated population of over 140 million is a vast country and the giant of Africa. There are three major ethnic groups (Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) and over 250 minor ethnic groups.

Persons with visual impairment have been known to experience functional loss of vision or visual incapability which cannot be rectified by refractive corrections, medications or surgery (Adetoro, 2009). Visually impaired persons experience eye disorders which include retina degeneration, albinism, cataracts, glaucoma, muscular problems that result in visual disturbances, cornea disorders, diabetic retinopathy, congenital disorders and infection (Arditi and Rosenthal, 1998). They contend with visual system defects which affect their individual ability to perform activities of daily living. These conditions include partial sightedness, low vision and total blindness.

The visually impaired rely on alternative formats such as Braille, large prints and talking book or audio recordings to meet their reading needs.

In Nigeria, the population of the visually impaired is estimated at 3 million (Atinmo, 2002). Very few of these have received formal education and are capable of reading or writing Braille. The majority resort to begging on the streets as a means of livelihood (Adetoro, 2009).

Preservation of heritage materials constitutes a big challenge to heritage institutions in Africa. The challenge of heritage preservation in the tropics seems to be overwhelming due to a number of factors which include the harsh tropical environment, absence of a preservation policy and general lack of preservation awareness and appreciation of the importance and sensitivity of heritage materials. The strategic role of preservation to the survival of and long term access to heritage materials cannot be over-emphasised. It not only prevents or delays deterioration but also ensures access. “Without preservation, access becomes impossible and collections will decay and disintegrate” (Drijfhout, 2001). The greatest obstacle to access is deterioration or loss of collection.

National heritage institutions such as the National Library, the National Archives and the National Museums are in the forefront in the preservation of heritage materials in Nigeria.