Niger - Libraries and museums

There are state-run libraries in the large municipalities, as well as libraries maintained by religious orders, the military, and professional and other groups. The Regional Center of Research and Documentation for the Oral Tradition, in Niamey, was founded in cooperation with UNESCO in 1968; it preserves the oral history of West Africa and has a library of 5,000 volumes. Abdou Moumuni University in Niamey holds 25,000 volumes. The French Cultural Center in Niamey also holds 25,000 volumes. The National Museum of Niger, which has ethnographic and paleontological exhibits, is also in Niamey, as are a zoo, botanical gardens, craft workshops, and youth training centers. There are regional museums throughout the country, including the National Museum of Colonial History in Aba, the Archeology Museum in Nsukka, and the National War Museum of Umauhia in Umauhia, and a regional museum in Zinder.