The Gambia

Coordinates: 13°28′N 16°34′W / 13.467°N 16.567°W / 13.467; -16.567

The Gambia (ⁱ/ˈɡæmbiə/, officially the Republic of the Gambia and often called simply Gambia) is a country in West Africa mostly surrounded by Senegal with a short strip of its coastline bordered with the Atlantic Ocean at its western end. It is the smallest country on mainland Africa.

The Gambia is situated on either side of the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the centre of the Gambia and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its area is 10,689 square kilometres (4,127 sq mi) with a population of 1,882,450 at the 15 April 2013 Census (provisional). Banjul is the Gambian capital, and the largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.

The Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African nations in the slave trade, which was the key factor in the placing and keeping of a colony on the Gambia River, first by the Portuguese, during which era it was A Gâmbia, and later, on 25 May 1765, the Gambia was made a part of the British colony when the government formally assumed control, establishing the Province of Senegambia. On 18 February 1965, the Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom. Since gaining independence, the Gambia has had two leaders – Dawda Jawara, who ruled from 1970 until 1994, when the current leader Yahya Jammeh seized power in a coup as a young army officer.

Gambia River

The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra) is a major river in West Africa, running 1,130 kilometres (700 mi) from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and the Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigable for about half that length.

The river is strongly associated with the Gambia, the smallest country in mainland Africa, which consists of little more than the downstream half of the river and its two banks.

From the Fouta Djallon, the river runs northwest into the Tambacounda Region of Senegal, where it flows through the Parc National du Niokolo Koba, then is joined by the Nieri Ko and Koulountou before entering the Gambia at Fatoto. At this point the river runs generally west, but in a meandering course with a number of oxbows, and about 100km from its mouth it gradually widens, to over 10km wide where it meets the sea.

Near the mouth of the river, near Juffure, is Kunta Kinteh Island, a place used in the slave trade which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Guide

A guide is a person who leads travelers or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom.

Travel and recreation

Explorers in the past venturing into territory unknown by their own people invariably hired guides. Lewis and Clark hired Sacagawea to help them explore the American West, and Wilfred Thesiger hired guides in the deserts that he ventured into, such as Kuri on his journey to the Tibesti Mountains in 1938.

Tour guide

Tour guides lead visitors through tourist attractions and give information about the attractions' natural and cultural significance. Often, they also act as interpreters for travellers who do not speak the local language. Automated systems like audio tours are sometimes substituted for human tour guides. Tour operators often hire guides to lead tourist groups.

Mountain guide

Mountain guides are those employed in mountaineering; these are not merely to show the way but stand in the position of professional climbers with an expert knowledge of rock and snowcraft, which they impart to the amateur, at the same time assuring the safety of the climbing party. This professional class of guides arose in the middle of the 19th century when Alpine climbing became recognized as a sport.

Guide (Adventist magazine)

Guide magazine is a Seventh-day Adventist weekly periodical published by Review and Herald. It is a Christian story magazine that uses true stories to illustrate Bible passages and is targeted to 10- to 14-year-old youth.

Guide is often distributed to "Earliteen" and "Junior" Sabbath School students at the end of class and provides a Bible study guide for the week. Since its beginning, Guide has been popular reading during the church service for young people.

The magazine is published in a 32-page full-color 6x8" format.

History

In the years following World War II, the Adventist church had two magazines for children – Our Little Friend for children preschool to preteen and Youth's Instructor for older teenagers. A magazine for junior-age youth was originally proposed at the 1951 Autumn Council of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and voted in Spring Council on April 9, 1952 designating the Review and Herald as the publisher. A relatively young 27-year-old pastor from Northern California, Lawrence Maxwell became the first editor.

Guide to information sources

A Guide to information sources (or a bibliographic guide, a literature guide, a guide to reference materials, a subject gateway, etc.) is a kind of metabibliography. Ideally it is not just a listing of bibliographies, reference works and other information sources, but more like a textbook introducing users to the information sources in a given field (in general).

Such guides may have many different forms: Comprehensive or highly selective, printed or electronic sources, annoteted listings or written chapters etc.

Functions

Often used as curriculum tools for bibliographic instruction, the guides help library users find materials or help those unfamiliar with a discipline understand the key sources.

Examples

Aby, Stephen H., Nalen, James & Fielding, Lori (2005). Sociology; a guide to reference and information sources. 3rd ed. Westport,Conn.: Libraries Unlimited.

Adams, Stephen R. (2005). Information Sources in Patents; 2nd ed. (Guides to Information Sources). München: K. G. Saur ISBN 3-598-24443-6