Van der Westhuizen, Erica E.Van der Westhuizen, Erica E.Conference of African Animal Health Workers (1st : 1995 : Onderstepoort, South Africa)2010-05-272010-05-2719951997Van der Westhuizen, EE 1995, 'Electronic communication : possibilities for Africa' in Van der Westhuizen, EE 1997, ‘Animal health information for Africa: 1st Conference of African Animal Health Information Workers, 3-6 July 1995, Onderstepoort, South Africa’, University of Pretoria, Veterinary Science Library, Pretoria, South Africa, pp.69-73.1868541436http://hdl.handle.net/2263/14131Article was scanned with HP Scanjet 5590, 24-bit true colour, 300 dpi, saved in TIFF-format. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.There are few veterinary libraries or information centres in sub-Saharan Africa, on average one or two per country. This scarcity makes co-operation all the more vital. For successful co-operation, effective communication structures are essential. Steps that libraries can take to promote electronic communication in order to render a more effective information service to their clients are described, namely. • The use of the Internet listservs such as VET-LIB-L for communication of information between libraries; • The use of non-university networks such as SANGONET and HealthLink; • Making university networks such as the University of Pretoria's ROMINFO available far non-university persons, via dial-in facilities; • The creation of electronic forum facilities; and • The roles of UNINET, SUNSITE and MISANET in Africa. A starter list of contact details of currently available online veterinary faculties, libraries and institutions at Southern Africa is provided.en©University of Pretoria, Jotello F. Soga LibraryAfrican animal health information workersICAHIS proceedingsAnimal health informationICTInformation Communication and TechnologyVeterinary librariesAnimal health -- Information servicesInternetLibraries and the InternetVeterinary libraries -- Electronic discussion groupsText