Electronic communication in Africa — the promotion of animal health information dissemination

There are few veterinary libraries or information centres in sub‐Saharan Africa, on average one to two per country. This scarcity makes cooperation all the more vital. For successful cooperation, effective communication structures are a prerequisite. These structures are not only necessary for library staff but for the faculty members they serve as well, in their communication with colleagues in related research fields or veterinary extension projects. (1) The steps taken by the Veterinary Science Library of the University of Pretoria to promote electronic communication in particular, in order to render a more effective information service to its clients and others beyond South Africa's borders are described namely: — the use of the Internet listserv VETLIB‐L; — the use of the non‐university networks SANGONET and HealthLink mainly for community outreach projects; — making the University of Pretoria Academic Information Service's own network, ROMINFO, available to non‐university persons via dial‐in facilities; — the creation of a unique electronic forum facility by the Faculty of Veterinary Science and the Library in conjunction with the CSIR's NIBS, called VETAFRICA, mainly for practising veterinarians needing information. (2) Veterinary lecturer involvement in teaching and research is increasingly dependent on Veterinary Computer‐Mediated Communications (VC‐MC), in Africa and globally. A sampling of some of the dynamically expanding information sources globally available to online veterinary teams and animal health workers, as well as a starter list of contact details of currently available online veterinary faculties, libraries and institutions in Southern Africa, is provided.