The BBC had a good intro to this subject called <i>"The Lost Libraries of Timbuktu"</i>. At least I liked it, but I had no idea about any of this stuff before I watched it. It was repeated a few days ago and is available on iPlayer for one more day:<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hkb0z" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hkb0z</a><p>I'm assuming that it was the inspiration for the new series, 
<i>The Lost Kingdoms of Africa</i> which just started and focusses more on art history:<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pv1m4" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pv1m4</a>