Purpose

The purpose of this study is to assess the digital preservation policies and plans for long-term digital preservation in selected repositories in South Africa, with a view to develop a digital preservation framework for the preservation of Indigenous knowledge system (IKS) in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

Through the multiple case study research design, data was obtained from eight respondents in four Indigenous Knowledge Systems Documentation Centers (IKSDCs) in institutions that are part of the National Recordal Systems (NRS) initiative across four provinces in South Africa using in-depth face-to-face interviews. Data collected was also supplemented with the content analysis of several policy documents in South Africa.

Findings

The findings reveal that there are no digital preservation policies in place in the institutions, especially long-term digital preservation for IKS. However, some of the institutions are formulating policies that will include the management of IKS collected in the institutions. This study also reveals that digital curation, policy formulation and disaster preparedness plans to some extent are measures said to be in place for the digital preservation of IKS.

Research limitations/implications

This study focuses mainly on the NRS initiative in South Africa. Indigenous Knowledge (IK) related to traditional medicine, traditional plants and food are currently being digitized at the IKSDCs by IK recorders. This study will help in ensuring that the South African Government’s effort and investment in digitizing IKS and making them accessible online is not wasted. This study will help mitigate the risk of damage and alteration over time, either deliberately or in error.

Originality/value

This study fills a gap in the literature on the digitization and digital preservation of IKS from the context of the NRS project in South Africa. Very few studies have been carried out on the digital preservation of IKS in Africa. This study also proposed a framework for the digital preservation of IKS in South Africa.

中文翻译：

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南非知识库中土著知识系统 (IKS) 的数字保存框架

目的

本研究的目的是评估南非选定存储库中长期数字保存的数字保存政策和计划，以期为南非土著知识系统 (IKS) 的保存制定数字保存框架。

设计/方法/方法

通过多案例研究设计，数据是从四个土著知识系统文档中心 (IKSDC) 的八名受访者那里获得的，这些中心是南非四个省国家记录系统 (NRS) 计划的一部分，使用深入的面部-面谈。收集的数据还补充了对南非若干政策文件的内容分析。

发现

调查结果显示，机构中没有适当的数字保存政策，尤其是 IKS 的长期数字保存。但是，一些机构正在制定政策，其中将包括对机构中收集的 IKS 的管理。这项研究还表明，数字管理、政策制定和备灾计划在某种程度上是据称为 IKS 数字保存而采取的措施。

研究限制/影响

本研究主要关注南非的 NRS 计划。与传统医学、传统植物和食品相关的本土知识 (IK) 目前正在 IKSDC 上通过 IK 记录器进行数字化。这项研究将有助于确保南非政府在 IKS 数字化和在线访问方面的努力和投资不会浪费。这项研究将有助于降低故意或错误随时间推移而造成的损坏和改变的风险。

原创性/价值

本研究填补了南非 NRS 项目背景下有关 IKS 数字化和数字保存文献的空白。关于非洲 IKS 数字保存的研究很少。本研究还提出了南非 IKS 数字保存的框架。