Lessons Learned: Old Documents Exist in Old Buildings

Several weeks ago, a friend introduced me to the Assistant Director of Mali’s National Archives. He and my friend went to college together, and my friend insisted that it would be a good idea to meet with him. Eh, I thought. Can’t hurt. I told him a bit about my research, and he immediately asked: [...]

Au Travail: Archives Nationales du Mali, ACI 2000

The first two weeks I was here I set about spending every morning at the Malian National Archives—the huge, bright pink building that also houses Mali’s National Library located in a new-ish neighborhood called ACI 2000, about a 25-minute walk from my house in Ouolofobougou-Bolibana. After working in this archive briefly in 2003 and then [...]