Strategies for Digitizing Records in Academic Higher Education in South Africa

Luthuli, Lungile P.; Buthelezi, Thobekile K.

doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-6618-3.ch004

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 14 publications

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“…The strategies that can be employed when digitising and preserving records include but are not limited to scanning, refreshing, emulation and migration (Luthuli & Buthelezi 2020;Dewah & Feni-Fete, 2014;Shimray & Ramaiah 2018). Digitisation has now become the approach to ensure long-term preservation of, and access to, selected archival materials (Mnjama 2011).…”

Section: Improvement Of Digitisation To the Records Management Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digitisation of records to improve access at the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority

Sithole¹,

Dewah

2022

J. South Afr. Soc. Archiv.

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The change from paper to digital records management at the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has been widely accepted to solve problems of poor records management systems and inefficiency throughout the organisation, but it brought with it some challenges. The purpose of the study was to assess the digitisation project to improve records access at ZERA. In a sequential explanatory design, the researchers used a simple mixed methods research approach to collect data. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews from purposively selected individuals because of their characteristics and significance in the context of what the study was investigating. The findings of the study revealed that the digitisation project at ZERA was a major success and it has improved the records management system in numerous ways, including improved access to records, fast and easy retrieval of information and timely access to records. However, the study revealed that digitisation comes with challenges such as the issue of security of records as cyber criminals always try to unlawfully access the organisation’s information. These challenges affect the organisation’s efficiency and effectiveness, slowing down processes and affecting the organisation’s service delivery. It also revealed that some members of the organisation find it difficult to adapt to digital change. Instead of embracing and using the new system, they lag behind and stick to the old ways of doing things. ZERA did not train its staff in the management of digital records, which contributed to resistance to digital change. The study recommends ZERA to budget for the appropriate infrastructure; employ more reliable security measures; train its staff in using, managing and securing digital records, and employ individuals with the required skills to manage digital records.

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Section: Improvement Of Digitisation To the Records Management Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digitisation of records to improve access at the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority

Sithole¹,

Dewah

2022

J. South Afr. Soc. Archiv.

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Digitising Archival Material at ZIMPAPERS Harare: Emerging Challenges and Opportunities in the Covid-19 Era

Dewah

Ndlebe²

2022

Mousaion

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ZIMPAPERS has begun a massive digitisation of newspaper stories and photographs, according to their subject, that it has been storing in the established archival facility. Newspapers from as far back as 1892 have been bound to create volumes of newspaper-bound books. Digitisation not only makes them more widely available, but it also has preservation benefits by eliminating or reducing physical handling of archives and photographs by users. The photographs are kept together with the original picture for every published picture and its story. The archival facility serves as a memory and knowledge hub for the organisation and its sister companies, providing journalists and other interested parties with a rich research base. The story-based filing system ensures that stories about the same subject are collected from the newspapers and filed. This sparked the idea of commercialising the knowledge housed in this special collection facility. This unique collection, which has the potential to account for historical events, has proven invaluable to journalists, students, researchers, and the general public. Aside from providing access, opening the facility to the public was a significant step toward monetising the collections, and the potential of the collections to generate some revenue/income for the organisation cannot be overstated. The organisation realised that by continuing to digitise its archives, it can benefit from infopreneurship, even though it has brought its own set of challenges, opportunities, and lessons.

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Strategies for Digitizing Records in Academic Higher Education in South Africa

Cited by 2 publications

References 14 publications

Digitisation of records to improve access at the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority

Digitisation of records to improve access at the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority

Digitising Archival Material at ZIMPAPERS Harare: Emerging Challenges and Opportunities in the Covid-19 Era

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