First International Conference on African Digital Libraries and Archives (ICADLA 1)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/8917
1 – 3 July 2009
United Nations Conference Centre
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Item Communiqué - Summary and Recommendations(2010-12-17) Walker, ClareThe summary and recommendations are captured in the following communiqué, presented at the conclusion of the First International Conference on African Digital Libraries and Archives (ICADLA-1), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1st-3rd July 2009Item Creating an Institutional Repository at the University of Dar es Salaam: Some Experiences(2010-12-17) Muneja, Paul D.The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) Library is establishing an institutional repository (IR) to preserve, and provide wider visibility and accessibility for, its intellectual outputs. In order to understand stakeholders’ views a needs assessment survey was conducted. The objectives of the study were to assess users’ levels of awareness of IRs, users’ interest in the establishment of an IR, and users’ recommendation on the types of materials to be included in the IR. In addition, the survey intended to take users’ view on the modality of deposition, moderation, access and use of IR materials. The sample was drawn from UDSM academic and administrative staff, and postgraduate and undergraduate students. A purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample from the population, and secondary data was collected using a documentary review. Primary data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Research tools were tested to check validity, reliability and clarity. Both qualitative and quantitative data for the study were analysed and presented. Quantitative and Qualitative data were codified and analysed using SPSS and content analysis respectively, The study reveals that most users at UDSM are not aware of the institutional repository. In comparison with other users, academic staff are aware of the IR and because of this, they use the IR to access and disseminate materials. Postgraduate students follow by using the IR to access materials; administrators use the IR to disseminate, in contrast to postgraduate students. Undergraduate students have low levels of awareness and few of them use IR for any purpose.Item An Institutional Repository (IR) with Local Content (LC) at the Redeemer’s University: Benefits and Challenges(2010-12-17) Adebayo, Emmanuel 'LayiThe paper discusses extensively the benefits and challenges of creating an institutional repository (IR) with local content (LC). The similarity of this to the National Library of Nigeria Legal Deposit (LD) Law was examined. Some of the challenges highlighted include sourcing for materials, cooperation of faculty members, finance, stocking, staffing and use. Despite all these challenges, many benefits can be derived if one faces the challenges squarely.Item The Progression from Repositories to Institutional Repositories: a Comparative Examination of Repositories at the Durban University of Technology and Stellenbosch University(2010-12-17) Raju, Roy; Raju, ReggieThe South African higher education environment was re-landscaped to redress, inter alia, an apartheid higher educational system. In this re-landscaping process, the M.L.Sultan and Natal Technikons were merged to create the Durban University of Technology (DUT). This newly formed University of Technology had to transform from a vocationally focused institution to an institution striving for exponential growth in research and postgraduate student output. Stellenbosch University (SU), on the other hand, is a traditional university with a history of excellence and a claim to be a leading research institution in Africa. Given the history of these institutions, the road to be travelled for the adoption of an institutional repository (IR), is interpreted to be the same, but different in terms of challenges: as described by Thomas et al. (2005: 65), “the same destination with different paths”. Hence the purpose of this paper is to examine these different paths. However, before engaging in the discussion about the paths traversed by each of these institutions, it is important to tease out the fundamental principle governing IRs and the influence of these in formulating policy and procedures.Item Think Big Start Small: Institutional Repositories: Policies, Strategies, Technological Options, Standards and Best Practices. The Case of the University of Buea(2010-12-17) Ngum, Harry; Shafack, Rosemary; Koelen, M. Th.In order to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by half the number of people living in hunger and poverty and stimulating economic growth to enhance rural household economies, the stakeholders involved need to provide access to resources and technology as well as effective information services. Information and knowledge are fundamental for education and development as well as essential requirements to improve the quality of life for people living in regions where the population has not reached a high level of economic and social development. Libraries play an important role in this educational and research process. For strengthening educational capacity and building up research capacity, access to relevant information is of great importance. In this paper an initiative at a university in Cameroon is described. The purpose of this paper is to give insight into the challenges most African universities face in developing their institutional repositories. The aim is to investigate how evolving digital technologies could be integrated into the libraries of these African universities. In the light of existing realities in most African countries, the creation of an enabling institutional environment for information repositories to blossom is of prime importance. Information repositories often stand low on the scale of priorities and this can be attributed to the laxity in national and institutional regulation and policies. How therefore do we get to run an institutional repository when the platform for information resources (the library) is not a priority for policy makers and for the institutions themselves?Item It's Vital to have Repository Services!(2010-12-17) Guivernau, SilviaItem Institutional Repositories: Towards Harnessing Knowledge for African Development(2010-12-17) Moahi, KgomotsoInformation and knowledge are the drivers of socio-economic development. According to a World Bank report, weakness in the application of knowledge is a major factor behind the economic stagnation in Africa. Compared with other countries, Africa has not had much success in acquiring and using knowledge for development. The application of knowledge is directly linked to the availability and access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and in the African setting there are documented challenges in availability and access to ICT. However, the greater challenge in applying knowledge for development lies in the fact that although knowledge is generated in universities and research centres, it is either disseminated in expensive international journals, or gathers dust in the offices (and computers) of the generators, as well as those that have funded or commissioned the research. The tragedy is that after a number of years, such studies are replicated without the knowledge that they have been carried out before. Much of the knowledge that is produced is in digital form as a result of the ubiquity of ICTs in many universities and research centres. However, the challenge is that the information and knowledge is not captured, organized for easy access and use by others. The application and use of information and knowledge can only become a reality where that information is collected, processed, and made visible for dissemination and use. This can only occur if developments in ICT are leveraged to develop digital libraries that can make African-grown knowledge visible. The trend worldwide has been to establish information repositories in order to make knowledge visible and accessible.Item IR and OA Initiatives in Africa(2010-12-17) Ubogu, FelixEarly IR and OA initiatives in Africa began in 1998, before the term OA was current. • Rhodes University (RU) in South Africa mounted its first digital thesis on the World Wide Web in 1998; it became the first institution in Africa to do so. Other grey literature also gathered. • RU, like many institutions in South Africa, has developed an OA repository, using EPrintsoftware, containing other digital knowledge products. • The Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD) programme of the Association of African Universities (AAU), which was designed to improve management and access to African scholarly work, was a precursor to the development of OA repositories by institutions which participated in the programme.Item Digital Libraries and Prospects of a Programme on Technology-enhanced Learning in Africa(2010-12-17) Islam, BaharulThe National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) in India is an illustrative project based on the concept of multimedia based courses with high potential for interactivity. It has become a popular and viable option for both developed and developing nations, though for different reasons. Offering multimedia courses in technology-assisted modes has not only become invaluable for the learner, but also an attractive and creative option for faculty. . The broad aim of the project NPTEL in India is to facilitate the competitiveness of Indian industry in global markets through improving the quality and reach of engineering education. The operational objective of NPTEL is to make high quality learning material available to students of engineering institutions across the country by exploiting the advances in information and communication technology. The present paper presents a prospect for such an initiative for African countries and institutions (as potential Associate Partner Institutions) to enhance the quality of human resources in technology and in the arena of the digital library itself.Item Optimizing National Transforming Structures for Open Access Agricultural Repositories in Africa(2010-12-17) Kahinga, EstherAgriculture is a crucial sector for most of sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya for instance agriculture is the largest sector in the Kenyan economy, generating a quarter of the gross domestic product and two-fifths of export earnings. Indeed reports have shown that efficient and effective dissemination of agricultural knowledge and information can help governments meet six of the eight millennium development goals. But for this to happen, transforming structures (policies and strategies) that encourage digital documentation of agricultural indigenous knowledge and digitization of valuable information emanating from agricultural research in Kenyan institutions of higher learning and research centres must be formulated, publicized and implemented. The Kenya Agricultural Information Network (KAINet) was established in 2006 in response to a need for coherence in the management of agricultural information and to enhance exchange and access to agricultural knowledge and information through a digital collaborative institutional repository. From a national perspective, KAINet is enshrined in the Kenya government Strategy for Revitalizing Agriculture (SRA). The SRA, launched in March 2004, aims at achieving a reduction in unemployment and poverty through application of, among other things, new technologies and information as the basis for a thriving agricultural system. Besides the SRA, another policy that has been launched to create an enabling environment for projects such as the KAINet initiative, is the National Information and Communication Technology Policy. The paper will look at the KAINet progress in the light of these policies and at what lessons can be learnt from them. In addition, suggestions will also be discussed about the additional digital agricultural content that Kenya and Africa at large can develop to have Africanized open access repositories available on the World Wide Web, which will ensure that Africa establishes her niche in the information and knowledge age.