Collections : [Liberian Collections]

J. Gus Liebenow was a professor emeritus of political science at Indiana University. Starting his tenure in 1958, Liebenow also served as the dean for Research and Advanced Studies as well as vice president and dean of Academic Affairs. In 1961, he also found the University's African Studies Program. This collections consists of lecture notes, personal files, department records, Liebenow's writings, and materials from numerous organizations he was affiliated with.

Dorith Minna Ofri-Scheps (1930-2015), known as "Jɛbɛ" to the Vai people, was a linguist and scholar of the Vai language and culture. Her dissertation, "On the Object of ethnology: a propos of the Vai culture of Liberia 1963-88" was submitted and defended in 1991, at the University of Bern, after the outbreak of the First Liberian Civil War had interrupted her field research.Her correspondence covers many aspects of Vai language and culture, touching on the cumulative work of August Klingenheben, Bai Tamia Moore, Gail Stewart, Jangaba Johnson, C. K. Kandakai, and many others. Her research drew on interviews with Mɔmɔlu Cole, and her assistants included Morris Davies, who died in the war, Fatu Kiazolu, and in later life Poppy Willard.

The Jeanette Carter Papers spans the dates 1928-2014. Renowned anthropologist on West Africa and women, this collections includes her research on women in Liberia and the Gambia, personal accounts of the Liberian Civil War, her field notes, research on ethnic groups, and extensive reports, publications and news articles on Liberia.

The Svend Holsoe Collection: Vai Materials contains information about the Vai, both the ethnic group and language of Liberia and South-Eastern Sierra Leone. Included is Holsoe's dissertation, research, photocopied 19th century documents on the region, people, and language, as well as reference materials and writing samples of the unique Vai script.

Bai T. Moore was a renowned poet and author whose work was greatly influenced by his experiences growing up in Liberia. In addition to Moore's career as a writer, he served as a government official for several years, first as Chief of the Liberian Bureau of Agriculture, and later, as Deputy Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism. This collection consists of government papers, ethnographic materials, published works, manuscripts, and drafts of his writings.

The materials in the Jana Bertkau Collection include notes and publications pertaining to Liberian linguistics, specifically the Bassa language.

The materials in the Jeanette Carter Reports include reports published by international organizations, the Liberian government and various countries. It also consists of clippings from international news media websites, programs and publications and correspondence.

Gerald Currens' experience with Liberia began in 1951 as a Lutheran missionary. In 1968 he began his graduate studies in anthropology at the University of Oregon, which had a strong program focused on Liberia. In December 1971, Currens began his abroad research in Liberia for his PhD dissertation study on upland rice cultivation and other features of subsistence based economies in rural Liberia. His main area of study was Lawalazu which is a Loma speaking town several miles from Voinjama, the capital for Lofa County. The collection consists of his field notes, data, questionnaires, personal research documents, personal and nonpersonal published and unpublished papers, copies of "The Loma Weekly," and a great variety of small educational readers produced by the Loma Literacy Center.

The Kathleen d'Azevedo collection spans the dates 1956-1996. The collection consists of d'Azevedo's research on school-aged children from various villages in Liberia as well as correspondence and programs.

Warren d'Azevedo is a retired ethnographer, renowned for his work in anthropology and African studies. D'Azevedo began his research in the 1950s, focusing primarily on African cultures, including the Gola ethnic group of Liberia and the Native American Washoe culture of the Great Basin. This collection consists of d'Azevedo's writings, photographs, memorabilia, and U.S. and Liberian government documents and teaching materials.

The Friends of Liberia collection consists of educational, and government material. Within the collection there is also information about the organization, and "subject files."

John Gay is a former professor and current scholar of Liberian and African studies. He began his career as a missionary for the Episcopal Church, teaching at Cuttington College in Liberia. John also had a number of fellowships that allowed him to develop his research and publish several works covering the civil war conflicts, culture, and social issues in Liberia. Though retired, John continues to have an active role in Liberian studies and currently serves on the Advisory Committee of the International Institute for Justice and Development. This collection contains his research, student publications, and other scholarly works.

The collection consists of correspondence, reports, records, minutes, and other miscellaneous manuscript items. These materials are typically either photocopies of items from the Liberian Archives in Monrovia, Liberia, or are typescript copies/notes created by Dr. Holsoe in the course of his research. The collection also includes material from the research notebooks of Dr. Peter Murdza.

The materials in The Svend Holsoe Collection: Edward James Roye Materials include research materials and manuscripts of Holsoe's work pertaining to Edward James Roye, Liberia's 5th president.

The materials in The Svend Holsoe Newspaper Collection are originals, photocopies, and citations from numerous small press newspapers in Liberia and West Africa. Most are from the 19th century and early 20th century.

The collection consists of correspondence, reports, records, minutes, and other miscellaneous manuscript items. These materials are typically either photocopies of items from the Liberian Archives in Monrovia, Liberia, or are typescript copies/notes created by Dr. Holsoe in the course of his research. The collection also includes material from the research notebooks of Dr. Peter Murdza.

A. Romeo Horton was best known in Liberia as a banker, the founder and former president of Liberia's first indigenous bank, the Bank of Liberia. Horton was also a dedicated public servant and was committed to economic cooperation in West Africa. In addition to his work in Liberia, Horton also had a successful career in Philadelphia as the president of the Phildelphia Corporation for Development and Cooperation and helped establish the United Bank of Philadelphia. This collection contains materials pertaining to his career as a banker, his involvement with numerous organizations, government materials, and his manuscripts and drafts.

The Liberian Newspaper Collection is one of the largest collections of Liberian newspapers in the world. An exhaustive list of titles, including many with small circulation or a limited run. The collection is ever growing and the finding aid will be updated frequently to reflect the additional titles.

A student of Cuttington College, Fr. Christopher K. Kandakai became an ordained Epsicopal priest in 1951. He was Liberia's longest serving Episocpal priest and served as rector and priest-in-charge of many Episcopal churches in Liberia and trained many Episcopal theologians. Additionally, Kandakai was an avid linguist who translated the New Testament into both Gola and Vai languages. This collections contains materials pertaining to the Episcopal Church as well as to adult education and linguistics. A large selection of his materials are written in Vai, only one of two African languages with an original script, unrelated to Latin or Arabic.

The materials in the William Kory Collection include papers and publications collected by Kory on Liberia. These materials include censuses, Liberian Studies Association papers, and geographic materials.