The Africana Collection of the MSU Libraries is one of the largest in the United States, having been built up since 1960 to support broad faculty and graduate student involvement in research and development projects on the continent. In recent decades, MSU program about Africa has been consistently rated among the top one or two in the country in both the number of faculty involved and the number of doctoral dissertations produced. The Library's commitment to this world area is reflected in the employment of two full-time professional African Studies librarians, who continue to build one of the top five collections in the country. Librarians also provide reference assistance and instruction to a wide range of faculty and students at MSU and from around the globe.
The Library collection of roughly 270,000 books, journals, maps, films, archives, and microform units and online resources covers all areas and disciplines. Online resources on Africa are one of the best in the country and include cutting-edge digital libraries and archives, full-text journal suites from Africa, and MSU digital projects. Across the collections, there is particular emphasis on history, politics, economics, culture, education, languages, health, and other fields of sub-Saharan African. The collection has special emphasis in the priority countries of Nigeria, Ethiopia/Eritrea, South Africa, the Sahel region of West Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Library materials from all sub-Saharan African countries are collected at a high level, including materials in all African and other languages and across all historical periods. In addition to comprehensive holdings in the Main, circulating collection, the Libraries also boasts significant Africana Special Collections and there are substantial special and audio-visual collections. One such collection is the African Studies Interview Series. The MSU Libraries' collection development policy on Africa is outlined in the Collection Development Policy.