Digitization of legal deposit materials at the National Library of South Africa
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Date
2024
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Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
This study established the research focusing on the digitizing of legal deposit materials at the NLSA. The study provides a comprehensive background on legal deposit, the challenges of physical deterioration, and the transition to digitizing with emphasising the risk of losing materials due to paper deterioration. The study aimed to investigate and optimize digitization, aligning with the NLSA's mission and legal mandate to preserve national heritage collection. The study was guided by the digitizing theories and models, namely Kenney and McGovern’s (2003) three-legged stool plus Corrado and Moulaison‘s (2018) digitizing triad. Objectives of the study included assessing policies, technological infrastructure, and financial resources for digitization. The corresponding research questions focused on existing policies, technological infrastructure, and financial resources at the NLSA. The study's rationale highlights the shift from paper-based collection to digitized collections and the significance of a national policy for digitization. The research design adopted an interpretivism paradigm and a qualitative case study approach, utilising document analysis, observation, and interviews. The findings revealed that sufficient funding, staffing, digitization skills and accessibility to relevant documents (policies and guidelines) are some of the major factors influencing digitization of legal deposit material at the National Library of South Africa. This study, therefore, recommends that these institutions can address some of the digitization challenges if they address these findings. The study also made several recommendations on how digitization at NLSA can be successfully implemented.
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Keywords
Digitization, Digitizing, National Library of South Africa, Legal deposit, Digitization policies, Digital technologies