A framework for enhancing the visibility and accessibility of public archives in South Africa

Mukwevho, Jonathan; Ngulube, Patrick

doi:10.1080/23257962.2022.2031933

Cited by 6 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Recent works by several authors still show that archival repositories are underutilised (Dreyer and Nofziger, 2021;Ngoepe, 2019;Chaterera, 2017;Mukwevho, 2017). The situation is not peculiar to Botswana, as Nengomasha (1998) and Mazikana (1999) also reported backlogs of unprocessed archival materials, making customers unable to access them.…”

Section: Statement Of the Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This problem continues to be of concern to archival institutions, as existing archival systems have failed to yield the expected access benefits (Archival Platform, 2015). Consequently, this deters the key principles of good governance and healthy democracy, which are realised through accountability and transparency which are facilitated by access to information (Sebina, 2006;Mukwevho, 2017). Hence, this paper sought to assess the factors that affect access to archives at BNARS using the ICA principles of access with the aim to find solutions to improve access to archives in the country.…”

Section: Statement Of the Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With access requests increasing daily, archival institutions have been under intense pressure to re-engineer their service delivery to satisfy user demands (Mnjama, 2008;Ngoepe and Ngulube, 2011). Despite these efforts, literature reveals that most national archival institutions in the African periphery are underutilised (Chaterera, 2017;Ngoepe and Ngulube, 2011;Archival Platform, 2015;Ngoepe, 2019;Mukwevho, 2017). It is argued by Kilasi, Maseko and Abankwah (2011) that archival repositories are failing to grant access, yet it is their role to facilitate access to archival collections.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors influencing access to archives at Botswana National Archives and Records Services

Manek

Mosweu

2023

Esarbica J

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As the responsibility for governments to account and be transparent evolves, access to information is becoming a significant tool in that regard. As such, most countries prioritised access to archives to uphold accountability and transparency, particularly in democratic states. However, for some institutions, access to archives is still a challenge. In this regard, this paper sought to assess the factors that affect access to archives at the Botswana National Archives and Records services (BNARS) with the aim of finding solutions to improve access to archives in Botswana. The study adopted a qualitative approach to review literature on the factors that affect access to archives. The study found that access to archives at BNARS is impacted by copyright issues; weak and lacking appropriate legislative framework; distance barriers; as well as logistical barriers. Ultimately, the paper reflects that several solutions such as the development and review of the legislative framework regarding access to archives, improvement of logistical and operational standards, and implementation of policies are recommended. These interventions should be implemented in line with the International Council on Archives (ICA) principles of access to archives. This would pave way for improved access to archives and archival repositories in Botswana and the ESARBICA region at large.

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Section: Statement Of the Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Statement Of the Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors influencing access to archives at Botswana National Archives and Records Services

Manek

Mosweu

2023

Esarbica J

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“…Therefore, through consultation efforts such as public programming initiatives, archivists will get to know their users and be able to decide how to serve them effectively. Public programming initiatives, therefore, serve as a tool to link the public with the archives and help public archival repositories fulfil their mandate to society (Mukwevho and Ngoepe, 2019).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A few people are aware of the services provided by both the national and provincial archives (Archival Platform, 2015). As it stands, anecdotal evidence suggests that the current public programming strategies of the NARSSA are not effectively raising awareness about the public archival repositories in South Africa (Mukwevho and Ngoepe, 2019; Ngoepe, 2019; Saurombe, 2020). The NARSSA is sustained by public funds (Ngoepe and Ngulube, 2011), which are generated from taxpayers’ money.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying Batho Pele principles in South African public archives – Do public programming initiatives count?

Mojapelo

Modiba

Saurombe

2021

Information Development

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Archival records exist for the benefit of society; therefore, people are at the very centre of the purpose of keeping archives. The South African government developed the Batho Pele principles to embrace them as a charter for public service to ensure a reliable and customer-oriented public service. Archival institutions such as the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa and the provincial archives are not exempted from this responsibility. These repositories form a part of the South African Public Service and play a crucial role in promoting the preservation and access to significant records that have enduring value. The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa and the provincial archives are responsible for preserving public and non-public records and promoting them to the public. In this quantitative study, an online survey completed by 20 archivists from these repositories helped establish whether archivists from the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa and the provincial archives utilised public programming initiatives to fulfil the Batho Pele principles. The analysed data indicated that the public archival institutions struggle to conduct public programming initiatives, and their limited efforts were not effective. This implies that most of these repositories did not consider public programming initiatives as tools to implement the Batho Pele principles. The study recommends that South African public archival institutions take advantage of the ‘window of opportunity’ presented by the Batho Pele principles to strengthen their outreach strategies to improve archival service quality.

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Online presence of public archival institutions of South Africa

Maluleka

Nkwe

Ngulube

2023

Self Cite

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Purpose In the wake of the fourth industrial revolution, where most information is accessible online, archives should be visible online for them to fulfil their legislated mandate and facilitate access to information resources. The Covid-19 pandemic has further underscored the importance of online platforms in making archives accessible without the public having to visit archival institutions physically. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which public archival institutions of South Africa are visible online with the view to deepen their understanding of how archives promote themselves online. Design/methodology/approach The study employed content analysis to establish the online content of public archival institutions in South Africa. A google search was conducted using the names of the archival institutions as search terms. The top results obtained after the search were recorded for further analysis. Findings The findings suggest that public archival institutions in South Africa have limited online presence. Only the National Archives of South Africa had an active website with collections that are accessible online. Some provincial archives had websites hosted by their parent bodies while others had no websites at all. Only the Limpopo and Eastern Cape provincial archives had their Facebook pages in the top results. There were no signs of other social media sites in the top results. Originality/value The study concludes that public archival institutions are not visible online. All provincial archives need to have websites where they can be accessed. The use of social media platforms needs to be prioritised. In this fourth industrial revolution age, people communicate and interact online. Public archival institutions should therefore make it their primary mandate to take the archives to where the people are currently meeting.

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A framework for enhancing the visibility and accessibility of public archives in South Africa

Cited by 6 publications

References 13 publications

Factors influencing access to archives at Botswana National Archives and Records Services

Factors influencing access to archives at Botswana National Archives and Records Services

Applying Batho Pele principles in South African public archives – Do public programming initiatives count?

Online presence of public archival institutions of South Africa

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