Tabernacles of memory revisited

Abstract

The study assessed the oral history projects undertaken between 1994 and 2014 within the Pietermaritzburg Cluster of Theological Libraries to ascertain the depth and breadth of their collections in as far as documenting the voice of the indigenous clergy is concerned. Data collection instruments used for the study were interviews, both face-to-face and telephonically, documentary analysis, email correspondence and database checks. The findings revealed that the School of Theology, now the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics (SRPC), at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, was at the forefront in this collection drive and that theological libraries were generally lagging behind; that ethnographical, literacy and content challenges are prevalent and that there is a dearth of material pertaining to religious archives on the National Register of Oral Sources (NAROS) database, which does not bode well with regards to the management of this ecclesiastical heritage. The study also revealed that there was a need for a co-ordinated oral history collection strategy to avoid duplication of effort. The study recommended that for religious archives to be effectively managed, private archives need to be properly legislated like their public counterparts, hence the need for a new national model in this regard irrespective of the perceived institutional imperatives.

The information work of community archives: a systematic literature review

“…Shilton and Srinivasan (2007) underline, “The longstanding archival undervaluing of multicultural narratives, and even more complex problem of a lack of recognition of what constitutes a localized record, has created a persistent gap in documentation of the meaningful narratives of a host of peoples” (p. 92). Scholars note the filling of documentary gaps concerning colonialism in the Caribbean (Bastian, 2013a; O'Flaherty, 2009) and the Pacific (Tale and Alefaio, 2009); postgenocide in Africa (Wallace et al , 2014); local or popular music in the United States (Baker, 2016; Baker and Collins, 2015, 2017; Daniels et al , 2015; Wallace, 2009); race, ethnicity, or nationality such as African American (Fullwood, 2009), Filipino American (Schreiner and de los Reyes, 2016), Southeast Asian American (Caswell and Mallick, 2014), and Portuguese South African (Rodrigues, 2016, 2015; Rodrigues et al , 2014); indigenous, aboriginal, or formerly enslaved peoples in Canada (Allard and Ferris, 2015; McCracken, 2015), South Africa (Garaba, 2016), and Mexico (White, 2009); and feminists (Corvid, 2014; Henningham et al , 2017; Moore, 2016; Sadler and Cox, 2017) and queer people (Baucom, 2018; Burford, 2018; Cifor, 2016; Fullwood, 2009; Wakimoto et al , 2013a, b) in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States.…”

“…In other words, the community/mainstream archive relationship need not prove adversarial (Baker, 2016; Cosson, 2017; Paschild, 2012). Avoiding duplication of effort, pooling resources, sharing knowledge and expertise, addressing misinterpretations of the past—all represent potential rewards (Collins Shortall, 2016; Garaba, 2016; Joffrion and Fernández, 2015). Scholars home in on three benefits of collaborative information work for community archives and five for mainstream archives.…”

“…As Kepner's pioneering “accidental” archive, which gestated in 1942 and evolved into the ONE International Gay & Lesbian Archives, attests, community archives are grounded in and sustained by individuals' personal initiative and by their emotional, physical, political, and financial investment (Barriault, 2009; Burford, 2018; Caswell and Mallick, 2014; Collins Shortall, 2016; Corvid, 2014; Finnell, 2013; Garaba, 2016; Gilliland and Flinn, 2013; Halim, 2018; Henningham et al , 2017; Kepner, 1998; Lian and Oliver, 2018; Marston, 1998; Novak, 2004; Parris, 2005; Platt, 2018; Rodrigues, 2016; Rodrigues et al , 2014; Sadler and Cox, 2017; Wakimoto et al , 2013b; Wolfe, 1998).…”

Professional ethics in building collections from oral traces of the past in Zimbabwe

“…Coordinated selection may ensure that the 'gaps' in the documentary heritage are identified and appropriately filled. There is a need for proper co-ordination of the oral history project, as emphasized by Garaba (2015). Writing about the problem of lack of coordination of the oral history projects in South Africa, Harris (2015) stated that, ''Oral history projects are common but are both random and undertaken in modes that are profoundly problematic in relation to voice and power''.…”

An Anthology of Faith-Based Collections’ Writings: Tracking the Genealogy of Scholarship on This Genre of Archives

“…In South Africa, empirical studies on faith-based archives are sparse, and this paper attempts to add to this corpus or body of knowledge on faith-based collections. However, there have been notable works byGaraba 2013, 20142016and Garaba and Zaverdinos 2014Ngoepe and Ngulube 2014, Denis 2018and Nawe (2024, which have all highlighted the plight of faith-based collections in South Africa. Just like the narrative reported by general works on records and archives, the problems are the same regardless of whether this is a private or public institution, as the issues of neglect, chronic underfunding, lack of expertise, and infrastructural challenges hog the limelight McFarland (2012).…”