Die Bemiddeling Van 21Ste- Eeuse Navorsing in Die Afrikaanse Letterkunde
LitNet Akademies Jaargang 8(2) – Augustus 2011 Die digitalisering van NALN se knipselversameling: Die bemiddeling van 21ste- eeuse navorsing in die Afrikaanse letterkunde Burgert A. Senekal Departement Afrikaans en Nederlands, Duits en Frans Universiteit van die Vrystaat Summary The digitisation of NALN’s collection of newspaper clippings: Enabling 21st century research in Afrikaans literature The contemporary world is an extremely complex environment due to globalisation and the internet. Within this globalised interdependent framework, researchers, both in an academic context and in nonacademic settings such as business, cannot expect to succeed without incorporating resources that extend the reach of the individual's environment and expedite the processing of information. Not only has the amount of information circling the globe increased rapidly over the past two decades, but museums and libraries have had to downsize their staff, which effectively means that fewer resources are available to handle more information and in addition serve a larger population. If the humanities’ basic tasks are “preserving, reconstructing, transmitting, and interpreting the human record” (Frischer 2009:15), technology is the key, enabling research across international borders, distributing data, findings and insights globally, and managing the deluge of information that is characteristic of the 21stcentury world. Within this context, digitisation – the process of converting analogue documents to a digital format – occupies a privileged position, enabling the distribution of information globally (and thereby contributing to information overload), as well as safeguarding the preservation of important historical material. Digitisation has become a global trend, and although many South African heritage institutions have been slow to make the transition from analogue to digital – mainly because of budget constraints – museums and archives in South Africa have realised the potential that digitisation holds, and are now digitising their collections.
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