A digital library (DL) is "an organised collection of information, a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organisation, and maintenance of the collection“ (Witten and Bainbridge, 2003

de Vries., R.

Kujenga, A.

Wits Institutional Repository on DSPACE

ICADLA-2  Developing Knowledge for Economic Advancement in Africa Proposals for Collaborative Projects and Programmes  University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa  14-18 November 2011    Supporting African Digital Library Projects: Experiences from the Field   by A. Kujenga, R. de Vries African Digital Library Support Network akujenga@gmail.com ; repkeamsterdam@gmail.com  info@adlsn.org 1 Outline Of Presentation • Background • Formation of Support Network • Projects • From SAGSN to ADLSN • Partnerships • Support Activities • Challenges • Recommendations • Conclusion 2 Background What is a Digital Library? A digital library (DL) is "an organised collection of information, a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organisation, and maintenance of the collection“ (Witten and Bainbridge, 2003) 3 Background Digital Library Software: Greenstone Greenstone is an open source suite of software for building and distributing digital library collections (New Zealand Digital Library Project, n.d.)  4 Formation Of Support Network In 2004 a Greenstone Support Organisation for Africa (GSOA) was conceptualised (Dynal Patel) with these phases:  Phase One A comprehensive feasibility study with the support of an advisory panel of African specialists (study: Peters, 2006)  Phase Two Preparing facilities and resources  Phase Three Launch of services, start of monitoring, reaching sustainability  Phase 2 and 3: externally funded projects •Pilot Project (2007 - 2008) –Southern African countries •2009 - 2010 Project –Included countries from other regions •External funding from the US •EIFL FOSS as executing agency •All coordination through Regional Coordinator ADLSN National Centres Zimbabwe Lesotho Malawi Tanzania Kenya Namibia Nigeria Senegal 7 Whereby National Centres draw trainees from neighbouring countries including Botswana, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia, who are in turn candidates to start their own National Centres The Cascading Principle… The 2009-2010 project added these numbers of specialists trained by in the use of Greenstone:  Ethiopia    1  Kenya   35  Lesotho    6  Malawi   10  Mali     1  Nigeria   44  Senegal  23  Tanzania  55  Uganda    1  Zimbabwe  39   10 countries      215 new specialists   In 2009 – 2010 as a result of training and follow-up support through the National Centres    Over 65 collections have been created containing approximately 20,000 items of all types, including conference and seminar papers, research reports, student projects and theses, past examination papers, archival materials and multimedia.  See: http://www.adlsn.org/results From SAGSN To ADLSN Vision To be a leading network in the development of digital content in Africa   Mission To facilitate access to local digital content in Africa by means of open source software 11 ADLSN Key Strategic Objectives • Extending the network to other countries in Africa • Continued promotion of digital collections development • Providing technical support for open source digital library (and related) applications as tools to build collections. • Giving advice on funding opportunities, sustainability, and best practices in managing digital libraries.   12 Partnerships • Greenstone Community • University of Waikato • eIFL • UNESCO • KIT • IR-Africa  13 Support Through Training • Workshops o Formats o Duration o Participant mix • Ad hoc Training • Internships  14 Other Support Activities • Site visits • Mailing List • Chat • Telephone 15 Challenges • Choosing between applications • Choice Matrix • Lack of Technical Infrastructure • Sharing of equipment, e.g., scanners • Low Technical Skills Levels • Workshop participant mix, internships • Low Skills Levels Amongst Information Professionals • LIS Curricula, e.g. SLADS • Hosting • Copyright issues • Sustainability  16 Recommendations • Programmes should be demand-driven, results-oriented, starting with advocacy targeting top management and policy makers in participating institutions. • Projects should include provision of collaborative hosting solutions to ensure global access to African knowledge produced in local digital libraries. 17 Recommendations (continued) • Training initiatives should target the right people • Library schools must be engaged and encouraged to align their curricula to incorporate emerging technologies. 18 Conclusion • In order to ensure success, DL projects need top management support and institutional commitment 19 Thank You! akujenga@gmail.com repkeamsterdam@gmail.com   For more information...  info@adlsn.org http://www.adlsn.org 20 References New Zealand Digital Library Project Greenstone, [Online], Available:  http://www.greenstone.org/  [16 October 2011]. Peters, D. (2006) Feasibility Study on the Establishment of a Greenstone Support Organization for Africa (GSOA), January, [Online], Available:  http://www.greenstone.org/docs/GSOA%20Feasibility%20Study.pdf  [21 October 2011]. Witten, I. and Bainbridge, D. (2003) How to build a digital library, San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.  21 

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