The Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL) derives its origins from the East African Library Association (EALA) founded in 1957. In 1970, when participating countries dissolved the EALA, they agreed to retain the biennial conference. Countries in the sub-region were invited to the next biennial conference that was held in Dar es Salaam. With time, more countries joined the conference. As of now, SCECSAL is possibly the largest and fastest growing professional association in Africa. Today, the conference is characterized by a great diversity of ideas and experiences, which make it an outstanding Library and Information event on the African professional calendar. The first SCECSAL was held in the city of Dar es Salaam (1974) and subsequently Lusaka (1976), Nairobi (1978), Maseru (1980), Blantyre (1982), Harare (1984), Gaborone (1986), Mbabane (1988), Kampala (1990), Dar es Salaam (1992), Blantyre (1994), Maseru (1996), Nairobi (1998), Windhoek (2000), Johannesburg (2002), Kampala (2004), Dar es Salaam (2006), Lusaka (2008), Gaberone (2010), Nairobi (2012), Lilongwe (2014), Ezulwini, Swaziland (2016), Entebbe (2018), Windhoek (2021) and Johannesburg (2022).