Good libraries are a critical part of any university's research and teaching, whether in physical or digital form. But, as numerous accounts have documented, many African libraries have struggled to maintain good collections in the face of falling budgets, rising purchasing costs, and expanding student numbers. This paper draws on a literature review undertaken by the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), as part of a study commissioned by Arcadia on the obstacles to accessing and using digital scholarly information in African universities. It outlines the principal issues which have been identified through existing programmes, studies and reviews, and summarises existing initiatives in this area. In doing so, it highlights a number of areas to be explored in greater depth during the subsequent phases of the project. (Contains 4 tables, 1 figure and 71 footnotes.) [This paper was prepared as part of an ACU Study for Arcadia.]