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Exploring the Challenges Facing Archives and Records Management Professionals in Africa: Historical Influences, Current Developments and Opportunities

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The UNESCO Memory of the World Programme

Part of the book series: Heritage Studies ((HEST))

Abstract

This chapter explores the growth and development of the archives and records management (ARM) profession in Africa, as well as some of the modern challenges the profession faces. The chapter demonstrates the impact of Africa’s colonial history on the immediate post-colonial developments within the ARM profession, particularly in the paths taken in education and training. The chapter explores a sample of the global engagement efforts by African professionals through the work of the International Records Management Trust as well as research carried through the InterPARES Research Project. The chapter discusses survey data from one of the InterPARES research studies and demonstrates complexities that ARM professionals continue to face in the continent.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Science, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

    Shadrack Katuu

Authors
  1. Shadrack Katuu
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Audiovisual Archiving Consultant Former Chair and Current Special Advisor, MOWCAP (Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific), Canberra, Australia

    Ray Edmondson PhD

  2. Professor of Modern German Literature and Comparative Literature, UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, Chair Sub-Committee on Education and Research, Paris, France

    Lothar Jordan

  3. Scientific Associate and Lecturer Chair Intercultural Studies, Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus-Senftenberg, Cottbus, Germany

    Anca Claudia Prodan PhD

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Katuu, S. (2020). Exploring the Challenges Facing Archives and Records Management Professionals in Africa: Historical Influences, Current Developments and Opportunities. In: Edmondson, R., Jordan, L., Prodan, A.C. (eds) The UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Heritage Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18441-4_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18441-4_19

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18441-4

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