Building Partnerships for African Digital Libraries:

1. Building Partnerships for African Digital Libraries: The Senegalese model for developing a West African Digital Library Network (WADiLiN) IATUL 2002 Kansas City, KS Cory Brandt Mamadou Lamine Ndoye

2. Rationale for a West African DL Consortium • Imbalance in distribution of info. tech. • Exacerbates North/South economic imbalances • Marginalises educators, researchers and students • West African Cultural Institutions • Motivated to embrace new technologies • Disconnected from fee-for-service content • Lack capacity to digitize proprietary content

3. Rationale for a West African DL Consortium • Northern Consortia • Cost reductions through consortial purchasing of online content • Germination of DL activity • Partnerships for online content development • West African Consortia • Strategies not effectively applied • Model can be disseminated through • Existing regional and sub-regional consortia • North-South partnerships

4. Barriers to DL Development • Shared Barriers • Severe financial constraints compounded by lack of training in strategic planning and grant writing • Inadequate facilities infrastructure (i.e. electrical wiring, telephone lines, buildings and grounds etc.) • Outdated or non-existent hardware, software, and network connectivity • Need for staff training opportunities and adequate training facilities • Harsh environmental conditions damaging collections and accelerating equipment depreciation • Inadequate salaries and difficult working conditions

5. Barriers to DL Development • Additional compounding factors may include: • Ill-defined or inappropriate mission and goals • Lack of clearly formulated strategic plans • Contentious relations between staff and management • Divisional rivalry • Interpersonal conflict • Misdirection of project funds

6. DL Activity in Senegal • West African Research Center (WARC) • WARC’s DL mission: • Assist West African libraries and archives in the creation of DL’s • Digitize important documents from private research collections • Provide scholarly access to West African DL content

7. DL Activity in Senegal - WARC • Digitizing private scholarly content • i.e. colonial reports, photos, unpublished manuscripts • DL training program • Face-to-face training and remote mentoring • On-site follow-up activities and guidance • Requires some prior experience and computing equipment • Key Training topics • image capture and manipulation • Web development • DL metadata standards • Ongoing technical assistance • Collaborative Fundraising

8. DL Activity in Senegal • West African Museums Programme • Different strategy • Lack of prior computing experience in museums • Staged Approach • Build skills before installing equipment • Distribute digital cameras • Basic image capture, manipulation, and ftp training • Create relationship with cybercafe for Internet access and ftp • Images sent to WAMP for processing and inclusion in database • Follow-up projects • Can assume some prior experience • installation of computers and networking

9. Senegalese Partner Institutions • Universite Gaston Berger • Dissertations relating to Senegal River area • Direction des Archives National du Senegal • Postcard Collection, 1900-1959 (3000) • Institut Fondamental de l’Afrique Noire • Various research collections • Centre de Recherche et de Documentation du Senegal • Explorers Accounts, 1644-1900 (25)

10. US Partner Institution • Michigan State University • MATRIX and African Studies Department • NSF Funding • African Digital Library Project • Standards compliant database development • Development of Web based cataloguing interface • Range of metadata options for partner institutions • Technical assistance for digitization of sound and video

11. DL Model for Resource Poor Environments • Conclusions are suggestive, not definitive • Emerging model stresses • Institutional readiness • Role of catalyst institutions • Importance of extra-regional partners • Need for effective professional networks in support of DL development

12. Institutional Readiness • Assessment (or self-assessment) of: • Financial capacity and accountability • Staff motivation and preparedness • Administrative support • Appropriateness of collections • Existing technical infrastructure and ability to maintain new technical infrastructure • Prior experience with digitization or related projects • Project management and strategic planning capacity • Experience and prior success in fundraising • Track record re: previous projects with external funding • Facilities readiness

13. Institutional Readiness • Assesment determines • Potential for follow-through • Degree and type of external assistance required • Potential to sustain DL activity after initial funding is completed • Ex. WARC and WAMP strategies • Differ based on differing readiness assessments • Museums vs. libraries/archives

14. Catalyst Institutions • Provide • Institutional readiness assessment • Model of the DL development process • Training and access to training opportunities • In-house and remote mentoring • Project and strategic planning assistance • Technical assistance including equipment and facilities specifications • Organizational development consultation for administrators • Formative and summative evaluation including clearly stated benchmarks for success • Assistance in fundraising and identification of funding opportunities • Reduce intimidation factor - handholding

15. Catalyst Institutions • Develop typology West African content • Documents • Objects • Aids in cataloguing • Development of standardized online metadata forms • Act as intermediary • Facilitate communication with extra-regional partners

16. Extra-regional Partners • Help ameliorate lack of • Computing and facilities infrastructure • Technical expertise • Prior DL experience • Funding • May provide • Access to standards compliant DB for online delivery • Temporary pending development of local expertise • Need for multiple extra-regional partners • Guards against over dependence

17. Extra-regional Partners • Rights issues • Fears about unfettered access to proprietary content • Exacerbated by historic North/South imbalances • Control of information • Access to cultural heritage resources • Should access be free when African institutions face economic barriers in accessing DB content from abroad? • Need for clear rights statements • Content remains property of repository institution • Extra-regional partner provides non-exclusive vehicle for online delivery

18. Extra-regional Partners • Rights issues • Need to explore • Fee-for-use systems to generate revenue in support of West African digitization projects • Cooperative agreements providing West African institutions with free access to content from database vendors in exchange for access to their content

19. Professional NetworksWADiLiN • DL Consortia are effective in • Sharing experience and expertise • Defraying costs through economies of scale • Raising funds for digitization activity • West African library consortia • Already exist at national and international levels • Development of DL consortium can build on existing structures

20. West African Professional Networks • DL Consortia are effective in • Sharing experience and expertise • Defraying costs through economies of scale • Raising funds for digitization activity • West African library consortia • Already exist at national and international levels • Development of DL consortium can build on existing structures

21. WADiLiNWest African Digital Library Network • Consortial entity to support DL activity in West Africa • Develop formal links with existing local and regional professional networks • Apply Senegalese model on a regional basis • Create representative Advisory Board • Offices at WARC to provide project coordination, training, and fundraising support

22. WADiLiNWest African Digital Library Network • Partners needed • Northern institutions can be linked directly with West African partner institutions for specific projects • Northern consortia can be linked with WADiLin to help realize the vision for a regional entity in support of DL work • For more information • Contact cory_brandt@hotmail.com or bugb@ugb.sn • Visit the WADiLiN Website at: www.warc-croa.org/wadl.htm