Sam Cohen Library entrance
Historical newspaper
The Sam Cohen Library was officially opened on the 3rd December 1977. Being a reference library it hosts approximately 10 000 books, which include the Africana Collection of Ferdinand Stich, the former bookshop owner of Swakopmund.
The archives, forming part of the library, contain a collection of newspapers from 1898 (German South West Africa) up to present-day Namibia as well as a comprehensive collection of historic photographs, postcards, maps and documents.
German newspapers are available (with intermittence during the World Wars) from 1898 up to present. The following Afrikaans newspapers are available: Die Suidwes Afrikaner 1927-1941, Die Suidwester 1947-1988 and Republikein 1985 up until present. The earliest English newspapers date back to 1923 (The Windhoek Advertiser). The Sam Cohen Library archives these newspapers but some gaps do exist.
The extensive collection of documents in the Sam Cohen Library is used by a variety of researchers. Historians, for example, use the documentation in the historical newspapers to trace people coming into the country (e.g. through passenger lists published by shipping lines). The historical documents are available at a fee.
The library also provides assistance to the school students doing projects on the subjects related to the local hostory and geography.
The library is situated on the corner of Sam Nujoma Avenue and Windhuker Street, Swakopmund.