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Johannesburg: UJ Press, 2023. 200 pp. Paperback R275 .00; eBook R0 .00. Paperback ISBN 978-1-7764605-2-6; eBook ISBN 978-1-7764605-3-3  \nAn African proverb popularised by Chinua Achebe and Brooks (1994) warns that “until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter” and this emphasises the imperative of African writers as the marginalised to be proactive in writing and owning their own narratives not as victims by victors in a world divided into conquerors and victims. In the book'Academic Libraries in Africa,' the lions finally pick up the pen or should we say the keyboard. The book features African librarians, researchers , and scholars whose work reestablishes the story of academic libraries in Africa, rooted in lived experiences and local knowledge systems. This is a welcome, scintillating and intriguing contribution edited by Prof Maria Frahm-Arp, who held the position of Executive Director: Library and Information Centre at the time when this book was published at the University of Johannesburg. However, it should be noted that the content of the book is not limited to academic libraries as it also extends to community libraries. Furthermore, while we acknowledge the transformative nature of Africans in telling own stories, as LenkaBula and Ngoepe (2025) rightly observed, there is a tendency to perpetuates African scholarship as merely an appendage of Eurocentric methodologies, a situation exacerbated by imbibing Western theories , which may not be the solution to Africa’s grand societal challenges. Perhaps, there is a need for African LIS practitioners and scholars to unlearn, break free from the knowledge orthodoxy of the North and go back to their roots. This is so because this aspect of knowledge epistemological transformation is missing in the book.  \nNonetheless, this collection includes thirteen chapters written by effulgent authors from various African nations such as South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Ghana and Uganda, and South Asian country Sri Lanka and Canada published by the University of Johannesburg Press. It centres on two principal themes shaping global library services: the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) . The authors share a collection of outputs, including case studies, empirical research, and literature reviews, illustrating how academic libraries in Africa are responding to the evolving community needs and challenges, such as literacy, information needs and access, open access and scholarship, technological advancements, marketing, awareness and visibility and post-pandemic pedagogical practices. Throughout the book, these themes come together like a thread of intellectual embroidery that keeps the discourse engaging, informative, analytical, and realistic as it articulates evidence-based experiences of libraries in the digital age.  \nThe aphorism that libraries are the heart of communities still holds true, even amid constant technological advances, as libraries persist in being innovative hubs. Academic libraries worldwide continue to develop and enhance their services, resources, facilities, and spaces to meet the changing needs of their communities, and the African diaspora is no exception. Despite infrastructure and resource shortages, academic libraries in Africa find ways to adapt and evolve to remain relevant and competitive at the international level. This is also evident in how these libraries continue to write powerful stories by supporting the SDGs and serving their internal and external stakeholders. The findings from a study by Nsibirano and Nsibirano on urban vegetable farmers in Kampala exemplify how academic libraries can extend services beyond traditional university parameters. Their research confirmed that when farmers received scholarly and credible agricultural information from the university library, they successfully adopted improv","cbCailItJbEnOuXU","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCailItJbEnOuXU","pdf",150614,"English","# Overview\n## Core themes and scope\n## Epistemological stance and challenges\n# Chapter themes\n## Literacy and library information skills\n## Access, open access, and technology\n## Post-pandemic and community-oriented practices\n# Community impact and partnerships\n## Libraries as hubs and the Ubuntu principle","[{\"question\":\"Who edited the book and what is the book’s publication focus?\",\"answer\":\"The book is edited by Maria Frahm-Arp and focuses on academic libraries in Africa, grounded in lived experiences and local knowledge systems. The review notes it also extends beyond academic libraries to community libraries.\"},{\"question\":\"What main themes structure the collection?\",\"answer\":\"The review states that the collection centers on two principal themes: the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It describes how these themes link to evolving community needs such as literacy, access, and open scholarship.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the book connect library services to literacy and education outcomes?\",\"answer\":\"The review explains that literacy-focused chapters show how library resources and downloadable materials can encourage reading, including among secondary school learners. It also links library literacy initiatives to SDG 4 and discusses how insufficient library literacy affects students’ transition and academic performance.\"}]","Academic Libraries in Africa - Book Review | PDF",1790412966]