1. 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

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)

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

21. 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

24. 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

30. 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

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

32. 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

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

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

35. 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?

36. 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)

37. 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?

38. 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?

39. 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?

40. 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)

41. 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

42. 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

43. 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

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