The African Studies Association of the United Kingdom (ASAUK) formed in 1963 "to advance
African studies, particularly in the United Kingdom, by providing facilities for the interchange of information and ideas and the co-ordination of activities by and between persons and institutions concerned with the study of Africa."[1]Antony Allott and
Roland Oliver led the founding of the group.[2][3] In recent times the
Royal African Society administers the association.
The group organizes conferences and supports the Standing Committee on University Studies in Africa and the Standing Conference on Library Materials on Africa.[4]
The ASAUK "Distinguished Africanist" award was established in 2001 to pay tribute to those "who have made exceptional contributions to the field of African studies".[5] Its recipients have been:
African research and documentation : the journal of the African Studies Association of the UK and the Standing Commission [Conference] on Library Materials on Africa, Birmingham: African Studies Association of the United Kingdom, 1973,
ISSN0305-862X From 1973 to 2021. From volume 66 (1994), it was published by SCOLMA (Standing Conference on Library Materials on Africa, UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa), London. Accordingly, since then the title is African research and documentation. Journal of the Standing Commission on Library Materials on Africa. In 2022, African Research and Documentation merged with Africa Bibliography into Africa Bibliography, Research and Documentation.[8]