Archives in sub-Saharan Africa half a century after independence

Tough, Alistair

doi:10.1007/s10502-009-9078-1

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Kukubo (1986, p. 164) gives an acocunt of the role of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland governement who were entrusted to temporarily house "nearly 500 cubic feet" of Bechuanaland's "early Secretariat and District Administration files" at an annual fee. Ealier than this period Tough (2009) observes that the Central African Archives (CAA) played a significant role in influencing the thinking in records management practices in Malawi, Zamibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. The earliest writings on archives and record-keeping in Botswana by Thompson (1970), Kukubo (1986) and Lekaukau (1984) all point out to this period as being the commencement of archives administration in Botswana.…”

Section: Botswanamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This under-resourcing of archival work resulted in inadequate and unintegrated planning; a low skills base among personnel, inadequate records management in government ministries and departments and absence of clear career paths for staff (Kemoni and Ngulube, 2007, p. 123). The findings of research by scholars such as Kemoni and Ngulube (2007); Mnjama (2005) Keakopa (2007), Tough (2009) and Lovering (2010) point unambiguously to archival systems that are under severe strain in the ESARBICA region. The advent of electronic records in the region has also presented further challenges to the management and preservation of records.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 1 more Smart Citation

An assessment of the state of national archival and records systems in the ESARBICA region

Ngoepe¹,

Keakopa

2011

Records Management Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to assess and compare the current state of archival and records systems in two of ESARBICA member countries, namely South Africa and Botswana. Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses a qualitative research approach. To draw inferences and make recommendations, a survey was conducted in national and provincial archival institutions of both countries. Secondary data were derived from literature search and primary data from questionnaires. Findings -While archives and records services in both countries do have legislation, they are not being recognised and given status in the government and public arena. Archivists and records managers in either country are still marginalised by state administration. There is no political champion of archives and records management in either country. There is a shortage of funds and staff, accompanied by poor infrastructure and lack of vision by the leaders of archival institutions in both countries. In South Africa, the national archives have inherited a role from the previous dispensation and it still remains a subordinate functionary within the Department of Arts and Culture, rather than being relatively independent. In Botswana, the national archival system is centralised and is also a subordinate functionary within the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. Practical implications -The findings and recommendations will help in guiding national and provincial archival institutions in both countries to facilitate the effective management of records to determine those of archival value, to preserve them for posterity and to make them accessible to the public. Originality/value -This is the first comparative study on archival and reocrds management systems between Botswana and South Africa.

show abstract

Section: Botswanamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

An assessment of the state of national archival and records systems in the ESARBICA region

Ngoepe¹,

Keakopa

2011

Records Management Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is worth bearing in mind, however, that Malawian (and possibly other Sub-Saharan countries) perspectives on the matter may be different from those espoused by the public sector in the UK, USA and continental Europe. As the author has written in a previous publication (Tough, 2009) sub-Saharan African countries:…”

Section: Future Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Scope and Appetite for Technology-Assisted Sensitivity Reviewing of Born-Digital Records in a Resource Poor Environment

Tough

2018

Handbook of Research on Heritage Management and Preservation

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Concerns about sensitive content in born-digital records seem to be a major factor in inhibiting the deposit of public records in dedicated digital repositories in Western countries. These concerns are much exacerbated by the changed nature of the process of reviewing records. The University of Glasgow, working in collaboration with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, received funding to investigate the technology-assisted sensitivity reviewing of born-digital records. As part of this research, some preliminary research in a commonwealth country in Sub-Saharan Africa was carried out. The research, reported in this chapter, was carried out in Malawi by the late Dr. Mathews J. Phiri. He found that already there is a real, albeit limited, demand for technology-assisted sensitivity reviewing of born-digital records in Malawi. The available evidence suggests that within the next decade there is likely to be an increase in the need for effective means of assessing sensitivity in born-digital records.

show abstract

“…The Government Archives of Southern Rhodesia were founded in April 1935 by an act of the Southern Rhodesian parliament (Burke 1959 (Tough 2009). In Africa, the existence and success of archival establishments even by the middle of the twentieth century was extremely varied and, in most places, only just beginning (Curtin 1960).…”

Section: Origins Of the Archivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2012, the books that make up the Oppenheimer Series are found in libraries all over the world, including the reference section of the reading room at the National Archives of becoming a site for negotiating difficult memories (Murambiwa 2009;Phiri 1983;Tough 2009).…”

Section: The Publication and Reception Of Oppenheimer Seriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An archive of identity: the Central African Archives and Southern Rhodesian history

Dritsas

Haig

2013

Arch Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Between 1943 and 1956, government archivists in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) collaborated with the publisher Chatto & Windus to produce a series of nine books. The collection was known as the 'Oppenheimer Series'. The volumes were published by the Central African Archives and offered in print, for the first time, the primary sources-diaries, correspondence, notes and maps-that chronicled the first English-speaking Europeans to visit south-central Africa. This paper explores the role of this publication event in building a settled identity for Europeans in Southern Rhodesia. The publication of the Series coincided with efforts by the Rhodesian archivists to bring manuscripts from the UK to their collection in Salisbury (Harare). These activities reveal a strategy not only to publish the history of European exploration and settlement in central Africa but to reify it through the physical presence of these books and the archival institution itself.

show abstract

Archives in sub-Saharan Africa half a century after independence

Cited by 19 publications

References 13 publications

An assessment of the state of national archival and records systems in the ESARBICA region

An assessment of the state of national archival and records systems in the ESARBICA region

The Scope and Appetite for Technology-Assisted Sensitivity Reviewing of Born-Digital Records in a Resource Poor Environment

An archive of identity: the Central African Archives and Southern Rhodesian history

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About