Preparedness for digitization projects in

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) information providing

agencies.

Research Presentation

Ndumiso Shelembe

Supervisor: Dr. Mogiveny Rajkoomar

Co-supervisor: Miss Athena Rajagopaul

Outline of the study

• Research topic

• Background and problem statement

• Aim of the study

• Research objectives and critical questions

• Focus and limitations of the study

• Literature review

• Research methodology

• Data analysis

• Ethical consideration

• Pre findings for the study

• Recommendations

• List of references

Research topic

Preparedness for digitization projects KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) information

providing agencies.

Introduction and background

• Brief background is provided.

• According to Fabunmi, Paris and Fabunmi (2009: 27), library digitization

has a lot of influence on the most libraries involved in digitization and

Somers (2006: 2) agrees that “many institutions have embarked on

digitization projects”

• Vrana (2010: 326-327)…benefits of digitization (preservation of

information, raises the profile of the libraries and remote access).

Problem statement

• According to Ntombela (2018), the Msunduzi Municipal Library is facing

challenges in preparing for their digitization project.

• Fabunmi, Paris and Fabunmi (2009: 27) agree that there are many challenges

facing the setting of a conversion to digital status, such as funding, storage,

etc.

• Liu (2004: 342)…more libraries are not involving a lot of steps for processing

the digitization of materials.

• Nyide (2014: 184)…there are no visible digitization policies guiding the project

in the UKZN library.

• Alhaji (2007: 234) identified a lack of policies as a challenge for digitization

projects.

Therefore, this grabs the researcher’s attention that prompts to an investigation

on the preparedness for digitization projects in KZN information providing

agencies in trying to address the identified problems.

Research objectives

• To identify types of collection that the KZN information providing agencies are

planning to digitize and why.

• To ascertain if the KZN information providing agencies have written policies and

guidelines that will be followed when digitizing their collections.

• To ascertain the digitization processes that will be followed by the KZN information

providing agencies when digitizing their collections.

• To reveal if digitized collection in the KZN information providing agencies will be

accessible to the public.

Scope and limitations of the study

• Focuses and limited…staff members involved in a preparation for digitization

projects at the Msunduzi Municipal Library, Don Africana Central Reference

Library, University of Zululand Library and the Durban Local History Museums.

Literature Review

Theoretical framework for the study

Collections Digitization Framework.

Tarani (2012: 3) mentions that this framework has been further broken down into the

following high-level business processes: decide, deploy, describe, digitize, deposit,

display, and direct. Tarani (2012: 4) further mentioned that this framework is

designed to accommodate both single and multi-size digitization activities.

Literature Review cont.

Digitization policies and guidelines

• University of Stellenbosch library (2019)…digitization policy is a very important

thing to consider when starting a digitization project.

• Todorova et al. (2014: 28) recommend “digitization policies that contain detailed

approaches about every single point of digitization.”

• Pickover and Mohale (2013: 2)…libraries engaged in digitization projects are

facing challenges of developing of digitization policies.

• Layton (2011)…digitization policy must be reviewed on regular basis to reflect

changes that may have come up in the digitization process.

Digitization process

• Adzic (2013: 48)…before the beginning of the process of digitization, it is

necessary to provide several things that will allow the presentation of digitized

material.

• Asogwa (2011) and Dartmouth library (2018)…the process of digitization must not

place original records at risk of damage from handling or use.

• Nyide (2014: 24)…decision-making is important when it comes to digitization

processes.

Access to digitized collection• “It is important to ensure that data is accessible to both designated and undesignated users

on a day-to-day basis” (Digital Curation Centre 2019).

• Fabunmi, Paris and Fabunmi (2009: 31)…“Digitization improves access to library resources

as several users can access the same material the same time without hindrance.”

• Somers (2006: 2), “it is important to find ways to facilitate access and at the same time to

relieve stress on the originals. That is why many institutions have embarked on digitization

projects.”

Other headings covered

• Reasons for digitizing a collection

• Benefits of digitizing a collection

• Selection criteria for collection to be digitized

• Challenges for a digitization project

• Staff training and skills for digitization

• Digitization tools/infrastructure and facilities

• Planning and preparedness for a digitization project

• Implementation of a digitization project

• Copyright and intellectual property laws

• Data storage and information management of digitized collection

• Cataloguing and classification/Metadata standards

• Funding for the digitization project

Research Methodology

Research Paradigm

Babbie and Mouton (2006: 48) link paradigms of social science by relating

quantitative approach to positivism and the qualitative approach to interpretivism.

• Therefore, the current study adopts nterpretivism since it is a qualitative study.

Research Approach

Du Plooy-Cilliers, Davis and Bezuidenhout (2018: 14)…researchers use a qualitative

or quantitative approach, or even both, known as mixed-methods approach.

• This study employs a qualitative approach and Du Plooy-Cilliers, Davis and

Bezuidenhout (2018: 14)…qualitative research presents interpretive data.

Research Design

Babbie and Mouton (2001: 83)…there are three main research strategies:

experiments, surveys and case studies.” The researcher used the multiple case

study research method.

Baker (2006: 4)…a case study represents a specific tradition within the qualitative

research paradigm.

Targeted population

The population for this study consists of sixteen (16) members.

Sampling

Purposive sampling

Maree (2016: 198)…purposive sampling is based on the judgment of the

researcher. This means that the respondents should meet a specific criterion to be

included as part of the sample of the study. The researcher purposefully

interviewed only staff members involved in preparing for digitization projects in

KZN information providing agencies.

Data collection instrument

Leedy and Omrod (2015: 31) mention questionnaires, interviews, observation,

experiments, and existing records as types of data collection instruments.

• The researcher used semi-structured face-to-face interviews to collect data for

the study.

Name of institution Number of staff members

Msunduzi Municipal Library 10

UniZulu library 3

Durban Local History Museums 2

Don Africana Central Reference Library 4

Pilot testing of the instrument

According to Sekaran and Bougie (2010: 210), pretesting involves the use of a small

number of participants to test the appropriateness of the questions and their

comprehension.

• The researcher pre-tested the instrument for the current study by interviewing one (1)

staff member at the DUT Library digitization project and the DUT library staff members

were not included in the actual study. This helped the researcher to determine

whether all interview questions are understood or not.

Validity and reliability

Babbie (2008), it is important for the researcher to make sure that the chosen research

methodology and data collection tools used are both valid and reliable.

• The validity and reliability of the instrument was tested through pilot testing of the

instrument.

Data Analysis

The researcher used Tesch’s approach to analyse collected data for the study.

Ethical consideration

Ethical clearance from the Institutional Research Ethic Committee (IREC) in the DUT and

asked for the gate keepers permission to collect data from each institution is hoped to

participate in this study.

Pre findings for the study

The following graph illustrates the names of institutions to which interviewed

participants belong and the number of participants per institution.

Figure 1

[N=1]

9

21

0

2

4

6

8

10

Msunduzi MunicipalLibrary

University of ZululandLibrary

Durban Local HistoryMuseums

Names of institutions surveyed

Institution name

Types of collection institutions plan to digitize

The following table displays types of collection the institutions plan to

digitize.

Table 2

[N=2]

Types of collection institutions plan to digitize

Institution Collections

Institution one Legal deposit serials collection

Institution two Theses and Dissertations

Institution three Photographs

Digitization policies and guidelines

Policies and guidelines that will be followed by institution when digitizing their

collection are presented in the following table.

Table 3

[N=3]

Digitization policies and guidelines

Institution Policies &

guidelines available

No policies &

guidelines available

Institution one X

Institution two X

Institution three X

Two (66.67%) institutions do not have digitization policies and guidelines

available and one (33.33%) institution have digitization policies and policies

available.

Digitization process

Digitization process that will be followed by institution when digitizing their

collection are presented in the following table.

Table 4

[N=4]

Digitization process

Institution Digitization process

available

No digitization

process available

Institution one X

Institution two X

Institution three X

Two (66.67%) institutions have digitization process available and one

(33.33%) institution do not have a digitization process available.

Recommendations

This study makes the following recommendations:

• Institutions preparing for a digitization project should have written

digitization policies and guidelines and written digitization process to follow

when digitization.

• This study further recommends that other researchers should look at the

digitization after the projects are done.

List of references

Alhaji, I. 2007. Digitization of past question papers, dissertations and theses: a case study of 30 Nigerian

university libraries. The International Information & Library Review, 39(3), 228-246.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057231707000367 (Accessed 13 september 2018).

Asogwa, B.E. and I.J. Ezema. 2012. The challenges of preservation of archives and records in the electronic age. PacificNorthwest Library Association (PNLA) Quarterly, 76(3):115-125. Available:http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/76600087/challenges-preservation-archives-records-electronic-age(Accessed 03 April 2019).

Babbie, E. 2008. The basic of social research. 4th ed. Australia: Thomson.

Bekele, S. (2002) The role and impact of the digital library on capacity building in the developing world- a

case study of the OSSREA Digital Library. International Information and Library Review, 34: 129-137.

Available: http://www.idealibrary.com (Accessed 20 July 2018).

Babbie, E. and Mouton, J. 2001. The practice of social research. Oxford: University Press.

Digital Curation Centre (DCC). 2019. DCC Curation Lifecycle Model. Available:http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/curation-lifecycle-model (Accessed 08 April 2019).

Babbie, E. and Mouton, J. 2006. The practice of social research. South African ed. Cape Town: Oxford

University Press Southern Africa.

Du Plooy-Cilliers, F., Davis, C. and Bezuidenhout, R., eds. 2018. Research matters. Cape Town: Juta.

Fabunmi, B. A., Paris, M., and Fabunmi, M. 2009. Digitization of library resources: challenges and

implications for policy and planning. International journal of African & African American Studies, 5(2): 23-36.

Flick, U. 2015. Introducing research methodology. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage.

.

List of references cont.

Layton, R. 2011. Developing a digitisation strategy for your institution. The Archival platform. Available:http://www.archivalplatform.org/blog/entry/developing_a/ (Accessed 12 February 2019).

Leedy, P.D. and Ormrod, J.E. 2015. Practical research: planning and design. 11th ed. Boston: Pearson.

Liu, Y. Q. 2004. Best practices, standards and techniques for digitizing library materials: a snapshot of library digitization

practices in the USA. Online Information Review, 28(5):338-345.

Mack, L. 2010. The philosophical underpinnings of educational research. Polyglossia, 19(1): 1-11.

Maree, K. 2016, First steps in research, 2nd ed. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.

Nyide, B. C. 2014. The digitization of theses and dissertations at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. M.IS., University of

KwaZulu-Natal.

Sekaran, U. and Boungie, R. 2010. Research methods for business: a skill-building approach. 5th ed. United Kingdom:

Wiley.

Tarani, K. 2012. Collections digitization framework: a service-orientated approach to digitization in academic libraries.

Partnership: the Canadian journal of library and information practice and research, 7(2): 1-13.

Todorova, T., Tsvetkova, E., Yilmaz, B. and Cakmak, T. 2014. Digital preservation policies in Bulgaria and Turkey. Available:https://www.slideshare.net/Tolgaakmak/digital-preservation-policies-in-bulgaria-and-turkey?qid=be13f718-86a6-47f4-b590-1cb5f28416d7&v=&b=&from_search=21 (Accessed 15 February 2019).

Pickover, M. and G. Mohale. 2013. Report of the South African Digitisation Initiative (SADI) Workshop Digitisation & DigitalLibraries: Standards, Best Practices, Policies and Technical Requirements. South African Digitisation Initiative (SADI). WIReDSpace:Wits Institutional Repository environment on DSpace. Available: http://hdl.handle.net/10539/13074 (Accessed 29 November2018).

Vrana, R. 2010. Public libraries in Croatia and the digitization challenge. Library review, 59 (5): 325-340

Thank you