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Introduction

Preserving the digital resources of developing countries: is there a role for repository libraries?. Paper presented at the 2 nd International Conference on Repository and Storage Libraries, Kuopio, 13-15 May 2004 Peter Johan Lor University of Pretoria. Introduction.

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Introduction

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  1. 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

  2. Introduction • “Digitise all this old stuff” • Growth of digital output • Digitised • Born-digital • Preservation challenge • Scope • Four categories of digital material • Sub-Saharan Africa

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. Africa’s digital output • Digitisation of African heritage material • Mainly small, specialised collections • US • Africa • Example DISA (Digital Imaging project of South Africa)

  8. Africa’s digital output (2) • Electronic journals • Sabinet Online: 160+ titles • NISC South Africa: 7+ titles (via Ingenta) • Others • Total 200 titles?

  9. 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

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. Who is responsible? • In Africa: • Authors • Publishers • Universities • National libraries • National archives • Institutions in the North

  13. 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

  14. Role of repository libraries • Technical considerations • Many issues • Selection • Harvesting • Deep web • Organisation for retrieval • What is to be preserved? • Access: who, how, where?

  15. Role of repository libraries (2) • Organisational considerations • Institutional • internal organisation • Inter-institutional • North-North • International • North-South / South-North • Cooperation essential

  16. 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?

  17. 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)

  18. 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?

  19. 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?

  20. 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?

  21. 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)

  22. 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

  23. 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

  24. 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

  25. Thank you Peter Johan Lor Department of Information Science University of Pretoria South Africa peter.lor@up.ac.za

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