preserving the digital resources of developing countries: is there a role for repository libraries?...
TRANSCRIPT
Preserving the digital resources of developing countries: is there a role for repository libraries?
Paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on Repository and Storage Libraries, Kuopio, 13-
15 May 2004
Peter Johan Lor
University of Pretoria
Introduction
• “Digitise all this old stuff”• Growth of digital output
– Digitised– Born-digital
• Preservation challenge• Scope
– Four categories of digital material– Sub-Saharan Africa
Outline
• Introduction
• Production of digital resources in Africa
• Africa’s digital output
• Who is responsible for preservation
• Role of repository libraries in the North
• Conclusion
Outline
• Introduction
• Production of digital resources in Africa
• Africa’s digital output
• Who is responsible for preservation
• Role of repository libraries in the North
• Conclusion
Production of digital resources in Africa
• Conditions in Africa: a jeremiad– ICT infrastructure
• Teledensity, backbone, bandwidth
• Internet development indicators
– Telecoms costs– Shortages of funds& skilled personnel– Organisational weakness– Political fragmentation
Outline
• Introduction
• Production of digital resources in Africa
• Africa’s digital output
• Who is responsible for preservation
• Role of repository libraries in the North
• Conclusion
Africa’s digital output
• Digitisation of African heritage material– Mainly small, specialised collections– US– Africa– Example DISA (Digital Imaging project of
South Africa)
Africa’s digital output (2)
• Electronic journals
• Sabinet Online: 160+ titles
• NISC South Africa: 7+ titles (via Ingenta)
• Others
• Total 200 titles?
Africa’s digital output (3)
• Electronic theses and dissertations– Rhodes University, Grahamstown– DATAD project
• Database of African Theses and Dissertations
• Association of African Universities
– UNESCO-funded pilot project• Universities of Witwatersrand & Addis Ababa
Africa’s digital output (4)
• Web sites– How many?– More information on Africa on sites outside
Africa– Rapid growth in Africa– Variety– News portals– Search engines
Outline
• Introduction
• Production of digital resources in Africa
• Africa’s digital output
• Who is responsible for preservation
• Role of repository libraries in the North
• Conclusion
Who is responsible?
• In Africa:– Authors– Publishers– Universities– National libraries– National archives
• Institutions in the North
Outline
• Introduction
• Production of digital resources in Africa
• Africa’s digital output
• Who is responsible for preservation
• Role of repository libraries in the North
• Conclusion
Role of repository libraries
• Technical considerations– Many issues– Selection– Harvesting– Deep web– Organisation for retrieval– What is to be preserved?– Access: who, how, where?
Role of repository libraries (2)
• Organisational considerations– Institutional
• internal organisation
– Inter-institutional • North-North
– International• North-South / South-North• Cooperation essential
Role of repository libraries (3)
• Economic considerations– Costs
• Connect time, storage not the only costs
– Up-front investment
– Operational costs• Curation, storage space, upgrading
– Who will fund?• Sustainability
• Business model
• Access for Africans?
Role of repository libraries (4)
• Political considerations– Context: North-South & South-North
information flows– Not only North-South flow needed– Repositories: information imperialism?– Partnerships must respect autonomy, self-
sufficiency, dignity of Africa– Possibility of misuse of information (political
sites)
Role of repository libraries (5)
• Legal considerations– Intellectual property: who owns it?– IP law in Africa– Protection in country where dealt with– Web sites: can’t wait for permission
• Download first, ask later?
• Litigation risk?
Role of repository libraries (6)
• Ethical considerations– Shortcomings of international IPR regime– Questions:
• To whom does this belong?• What are the rights of creators and owners of
IP?• What are the rights of other parties?
Role of repository libraries (7)
• Ethical considerations: To whom does this belong?– Communal property– Oral transmission (unrecorded)– Web sites: many components– Dissertations: student or university?
Role of repository libraries (8)
• Ethical considerations: – What are the rights of creators and owners of
IP?– Control utilisation (release, disseminate,
withdraw)– Share in benefits– Moral rights (attribution, integrity)
Role of repository libraries (9)
• Ethical considerations: What are the rights of other parties?– Who?
• “Discoverers” of indigenous knowledge • Scholars (who record, edit, annotate)• Artists (who adapt, dramatise, depict)• Developers of products (R&D; investment)• Scholars and students from countries of origin• Peoples: of the country, Africa, the world
Outline
• Introduction
• Production of digital resources in Africa
• Africa’s digital output
• Who is responsible for preservation
• Role of repository libraries in the North
• Conclusion
Conclusion
• Volume small but growing
• Significant part of Africa’s heritage
• Repository libraries in North can play a role
• Carefully consider all aspects, including “soft” issues
• Projects should be cooperative
• Parterships to build capacity in Africa
Thank you
Peter Johan LorDepartment of Information Science
University of Pretoria
South Africa