The plight of managing audio-visual archives in developing economies: The case of Zimbabwe

This study used the case study of the Audio-Visual Unit of the National Archives of Zimbabwe to interrogate challenges faced in managing audio-visual archives in developing economies despite their centrality as documentary heritage. The study firstly addresses the importance of audio-visual archives such as enhancing collective societal memory, preservation of culture and provision of entertainment. Thereafter, the study addresses challenges faced such as lack of collection development policy, lack of skilled manpower and technological obsolescence. It is against this background that the study proposes a framework that can be used to improve the way audio-visual archives are managed, the Tripartite Audio-Visual Archives Management Framework. This qualitative research made use of a case study research design and collected data using unstructured interviews, personal observation and document reviews. Purposive sampling was used where archivists and other staff members of the Audio-Visual Unit were the informants. Data were analysed thematically

Knowledge and skills for managing digital records at selected state universities in Zimbabwe

This study analyses the knowledge and skills for managing digital records at selected state universities in Zimbabwe. State universities are becoming centres of digital records creation facilitated by the advent of ICTs. However, records management personnel remain a marginal community with some noticeable knowledge and skills gaps in managing such records in their institutions. These gaps resulted in records management personnel being excluded from matters concerning digital technology as state universities in Zimbabwe drive towards innovation and industrialisation to achieve Education 5.0 and the government’s Vision 2030. Lack of knowledge and skills among records management personnel at state universities is worrisome, even though there are records and archives management training programmes in various institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe. The primary purpose of this article is to explore the implication of lack of knowledge and skills, with an intention to bridge this gap among records and archives management personnel in state universities. Data were collected from the Zimbabwe Open University and Harare Institute of Technology. A mixed methods research design was used to ascertain the knowledge and skills for managing digital records at the selected state universities. The study found that state universities still employed records and archives personnel who were not trained, although institutions of higher learning, including polytechnics and universities, are offering records and archives training programmes and churned out hundreds of records and archives professionals each year. Therefore, the study recommends that state universities should change their recruitment policy and employ qualified records and archives management personnel to manage records in this digital era

Exploring the feasibility of Research Data Management services in Zimbabwean academic libraries: the case of Zimbabwe School of Mines

The study applied an adapted Technology, Economic, Legal, Organisational, and Schedule (TELOS) model to explore the feasibility of Research Data Management (RDM) at the Zimbabwe School of Mines (ZSM). The study employed a qualitative approach. Data were collected through interviews that were held with purposively chosen professionals at ZSM in the form of the Information Technology (IT) manager, the Librarian, and three (3) Assistant Librarians. Findings show that ZSM does not currently meet the TELOS model feasibility test. ZSM lacks a robust technological system to support data creation, data collection and description, data storage, archiving and preservation, data access, data discovery and analysis, and data reuse and transformation. ZSM has not yet created a legal environment conducive for the introduction of RDM. It does not have policies and standards in place to handle issues such as intellectual property, copyright, data licensing, ethics, data protection, freedom of information, and confidentiality. While librarians at ZSM possess basic IT and computer skills they lack skills specific for RDM. The study informs the shaping of policies, practices, and strategies regarding the introduction of RDM services in Zimbabwean academic libraries

Growth and Development of Open Access Institutional Repositories in Africa

The present study attempts to highlight the growth and development of institutional repositories in Africa. The institutional repositories developed by African countries were identified by selecting the database of OpenDOAR (Directory of Open Access Repositories). The retrieved data were thoroughly analyzed for the necessary information. The study found a total of 219 open access repositories In Africa, out of which 161(73.51%) are Institutional repositories that contained theses and dissertations as one content type. The process of inclusion of institutional repositories at OpenDOAR in Africa started in the year 2005, while the maximum growth of repositories has been recorded during the year 2013 (21; 13%), 2015 (29; 18%), and 2019(46; 28%) respectively. The study also signifies that Kenya is the front runner contributing the highest institutional repositories, followed by South Africa and Nigeria. In terms of sub-region categorization (Eastern Africa, southern Africa, Northern Africa, Western Africa, and central Africa), it is observed that eastern Africa is the leading region having a maximum number of repositories while central Africa is lagging which do not have even a single repository registered with OpenDOAR. DSpace is the most preferred software used by the institutional repositories. The interface language assessment shows that English, the international language, was the most commonly preferred interface language by African institutional repositories.https://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.20088302.2022.20.1.3.

Records Risk Assessment at a Hospital in Zimbabwe

Many organisations usually do not value records management until a time when disaster strikes and records are destroyed. In most institutions, there is a lack of preparedness as there are no records risk assessments and records management systems are not assessed to find how they are performing. Without records risk assessment activities in especially hospitals, records will continue to deteriorate, be lost or even accessed by unauthorised people. Without proper records risk assessments, disasters are likely to strike and destroy records which are the basis for business transactions, continuity and evidence. Purpose of the Study: This study will seek to conduct a records risk assessment on a hospital in Zimbabwe with the aim to finding how its records management system is efficient and effective. Methodology: This study will be qualitative in nature and a case study research design applied, where the case will be the hospital’s records management system. The University of Technology Sydney Records Management Programme Risk Assessment Tool will be used in assessing risks. The sampling applied in this study will be purposive as the researchers know the research participants who are knowledgeable on the subject matter under-study. Findings: This study will conclude that records at the hospital are facing a number of risks which are likely to cost the hospital in cases of litigation. Practical Implications: This study will go a long way in pointing to the strengths and weaknesses of the hospital’s records management programme. The hospital can then seek to improve its records management system based on the findings of this study. Originality of the Study: Records management programme risk assessments have been done in other universities and organisation, yet one has not been conducted in the hospital which is being studied in this case. This will be a research paper

Collaboration in the management and preservation of audio-visual archives: a case study of the national archives of Zimbabwe

Magister Bibliothecologiae - MBiblThe study investigated the significance of collaboration in the management and preservation of audio-visual archives at the National Archives of Zimbabwe (NAZ) in light of the challenges presented by this heritage resource. An exploration of literature has revealed that managing audio-visuals is not an easy part and most cultural heritage institutions in developing counties have been struggling. The underlying premise is that collaboration ensures efficiency and effectiveness in the management and preservation of audio-visual archive

Records Risk Assessment at a Hospital in Zimbabwe

Many organisations usually do not value records management until a time when disaster strikes and records are destroyed. In most institutions, there is a lack of preparedness as there are no records risk assessments and records management systems are not assessed to find how they are performing. Without records risk assessment activities in especially hospitals, records will continue to deteriorate, be lost or even accessed by unauthorised people. Without proper records risk assessments, disasters are likely to strike and destroy records which are the basis for business transactions, continuity and evidence. Purpose of the Study: This study will seek to conduct a records risk assessment on a hospital in Zimbabwe with the aim to finding how its records management system is efficient and effective. Methodology: This study will be qualitative in nature and a case study research design applied, where the case will be the hospital’s records management system. The University of Technology Sydney Records Management Programme Risk Assessment Tool will be used in assessing risks. The sampling applied in this study will be purposive as the researchers know the research participants who are knowledgeable on the subject matter under-study. Findings: This study will conclude that records at the hospital are facing a number of risks which are likely to cost the hospital in cases of litigation. Practical Implications: This study will go a long way in pointing to the strengths and weaknesses of the hospital’s records management programme. The hospital can then seek to improve its records management system based on the findings of this study. Originality of the Study: Records management programme risk assessments have been done in other universities and organisation, yet one has not been conducted in the hospital which is being studied in this case. This will be a research paper

The Need for the Establishment of E-records and eHealth Legislation and Policy Framework in the Health Sector in Zimbabwe

Legislation is key to the establishment of eHealth initiatives. Without legislation, authority is not set and the privacy, confidentiality and other threats affecting records and information in electronic platforms are compromised. It is therefore key that legislation for eHealth and e-records be established. Zimbabwe is applying eHealth initiatives in the form of an electronic National Health Information System (NHIS) and other initiatives. However, worrying is the fact that Zimbabwe has not paid attention to the development of legislation and policies for eHealth and e-records management in general. This study sought to make a case for the establishment of e-records and eHealth legislation in order to smoothen the implementation of eHealth systems in the health sector. The study applied a literature review research as literature on eHealth, e-records management and e-health information management was reviewed. The study found that there was no e-records and eHealth legislation in Zimbabwe. The study, thus, recommended the need to enact e-records and eHealth legislation

E-skills scarcity and the digital records management landscape in Zimbabwe

With the adoption of electronic government in Zimbabwe in 2011, more and more government records are now generated, received, used, maintained, preserved and disposed in electronic form. Use of electronic mail records, word-processed documents, audio-visual records and social media records as official government records is now commonplace. This calls for the mobilisation and hiring of records and information managers with requisite electronic skills to manage such records. This article used the theoretical frameworks of the innovation diffusion theory and the skills theory to show the unprecedent rise in use of digital records as well as the importance in acquisition of electronic skills respectively. The article reveals that there is worrisome scarcity of electronic skills among records and information personnel managing digital records in Zimbabwe’s public sector. Focusing on government ministries in Zimbabwe, the article interrogated the causes and consequences of electronic skills scarcity, anomalies that directly and indirectly impact negatively on the full implementation of a digital records management programme in the country. This mixed methods research used the exploratory sequential research design where qualitative responses by government ministries’ records and information supervisors were confirmed and disconfirmed by quantitative responses from archivists of the National Archives of Zimbabwe. The paper helps to raise the call for higher education institutions to align their curricular with the demands of industry and the job market as well as for government to motivate skilled personnel to foster retention, commitment and excellent service delivery. Key words: digital records management; e-skills; e-skills scarcity; skills assessment; training needs assessmen

Digital Archiving and the Establishment of Open Access Digital Repositories in Selected Nigerian Universities

This paper focuses on digital archiving and the establishment of open Access digital repositories in three selected Nigerian Universities. Despite the abundance of vital information kept in the traditional archives of Nigerian universities, many researchers cannot easily access it due to the seeming absence of proper digitization and online visibility. It is also observed that the practice of archiving and the management of information in the repositories in Nigerian universities is limited to the central library, which makes access to information in the satellite archives across the departments and in the administrative units very difficult. This paper therefore, intends to; determine the nature, existence and the roles of digital repositories in the three selected Nigerian universities and to identify the types of information sources and resources available in their digital repositories, among others. Qualitative research methodology was adopted. Data was purposefully obtained from the websites of the three Selected Nigerian universities. The findings of this study indicate that the Digital Repositories existed in the three selected universities studied with different names, and were found to contain volumes of scholarly information sources and resources, which were organized in a systematic and chronological order, but it is not well structured to specifically link resources in the departments, faculties and other units of the universities with the central repositories. It was also found that Digital Repositories were not always accessible, possibly due to inadequate ICT infrastructure and necessary staff skills for their effective maintenance. It was concluded that the repositories existed for over a decade and were providing information services to its users. It was recommended that, the management of the universities studied should imbibe strong maintenance culture to effectively manage the Digital Repositories for sufficient access to scholarly information sources and resources and should consider the installations and deployment of necessary ICT infrastructure, as well as the right software configurations including the provision of regular staff training for proper digitisation and digitalisation of work processes and procedures in the repositories for efficient results and the promotion of Digital Data Literacy in Africa