Institutional readiness for digital archives management At United States International University-Africa

Abstract

The dynamics of digital technology has presented extraordinary opportunities for archiving and preservation. Digital archives portray a version of traditional archives which organize, maintain and support collections in digital format. Digital information is all around us and digital archives management is mostly considered the placement of the master digital objects file, its accompanying metadata, and other pertinent information in a secure and separate environment from the access copy. Institutions of higher learning being power house of knowledge should manage this important resource. It was in this regard that this study sought to assess the USIU-A readiness in managing digital archives with a view of proposing strategies that will enhance digital archives management for the institution. The study addressed the following specific objectives namely; Analyse the existing workflows system for digital archiving; Assess the adequacy of Digital Archives management policies and regulations; Assess the infrastructural readiness for digital archiving; Analyse Human resource capacity and their level of awareness in digital archives management; Determine challenges associated with digital archives management; and propose strategies that will enhance digital archiving at the institution. The study was informed by the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Model and the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) Lifecycle Model of digital archives management. A case study within a mixed method research approach was used with a sample size of 120 respondents drawn from a population of 6937 using systematic random sampling and purposive sampling techniques was used to select four key informers. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data, while interviews, observation and documentary reviews methods were used to collect qualitative data. Qualitative data was analysed thematically and presented using descriptive narrations. While descriptive statistics including frequencies, percentages and arithmetic mean were used for quantitative data analysis which was then presented in form of tables, graphs and charts. The findings indicated that the workflow system for digital archives management at USIU-A started with creation of digital records either through scanning or born digital. The findings however noted storage related challenges which had the potential of inhibiting the management of the digital archives. Further, the findings showed that although USIU-A had a digital records management policy, most of the staff were not aware of the availability of the policy. Furthermore, findings showed that the infrastructure required for digital archives management was not up to standard. Moreover, a myriad of challenges were unearthed which were found to potentially inhibit the management of digital archives. The study therefore concluded that although USIU-A had taken steps towards digital archives management, more still needed to be done for the institution to sufficiently implement and manage its digital archives. Consequently, the study proposed strategies such as procuring a digital archives management system capable of integrating best digital archival practices such as capture at creation, digitization, ingest, description, audit and appraisal among others. Other recommendations proffered included sensitizing staff on policy matters and improving infrastructural requirements for digital archives management.