Abstract

Now that Cameroon is self-sufficient in agriculture, the government is giving priority to improving the health of its citizens. One way to achieve this goal is to provide researchers, doctors, and governmental officials access to information on medicine and public health. This project will help expand the services of a documentation centre on traditional and modern medicine located at a Cameroonian research institute for the study of medicine and medicinal plants. Ninety-five researchers and scientists at the institute will have access to organized documentation. The project will train documentation centre staff on the technical aspects of classification; acquisitions; collection development; archives; microfiche production; publication of bibliographies; and the promotion of user services.

Post-Project Summary

The project produced a database, three bibliographies and a procedures manual compiled by a consultant, setting down steps and rules governing the reception and recording of documents, along with their bibliographic description. All old documents were set into microfiches with the assistance of the France-Cameroon partnership. There were two consultant missions to the project. The first, in June 1987, was for the purpose of upgrading staff technical skills. The second, in August 1988, was to evaluate progress since the first mission; make recommendations in terms of organizing physical space, the classification system, and work distribution procedures; establish Documentation Centre regulations; set down all procedures in the above-mentioned manual; and introduce the CDS/ISIS micro software.

Recipient Institution(s)