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A FRAMEWORK FOR ACCESS AND USE OF DOCUMENTARY HERITAGE AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF ZIMBABWE by FORGET CHATERERA submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in the subject Information Science at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR P. NGULUBE CO-SUPERVISOR: DOCTOR A. RODRIGUES July 2017 SUMMARY The study sought to develop a framework for access and use of documentary heritage at the National Archives of Zimbabwe (NAZ). This followed the realization that access and use is the raison d'être for national archival institutions yet the level of utilization has for a long time been lamented to be low. The researcher therefore took a holistic approach and investigated the issues of bibliographic, intellectual and physical access to archives. Using a grounded theory research approach framed within the constructivism ontology and the interpretivism epistemological research paradigm, this study employed the observation technique, interviews and content analysis to collect the empirical evidence that was needed to develop a framework for access and use of the documentary heritage in the custody of NAZ. The study extensively discussed the methodological issues involved in the study as grounded theory is a rarely used approach in Information Science studies. An extensive discussion was therefore offered to enable readers to follow and appreciate how the not so common approach was actually employed. The findings of the study showed that the position of NAZ as a public information resource centre was threatened by many obstacles that were compromising the accessibility and use of the documentary heritage in its custody. Such hindrances included the absence of a national policy on access to public archives, the absence of an institutional access policy, the absence of a standing committee on access and use of archives, lack of a budget, increasing backlogs of unprocessed archives, misconstrued public perception, the absence of special facilities for the physically challenged, centralised access to archives, access restrictions placed by legal instruments as well as limited use of digital technology, no use of the print media and Web 2.0 technologies. Using the findings of the study, the researcher offered a framework for enhanced access and use of archives to serve as a baseline on which archivists may reflect and improve on their practices. i Key terms: Access, Archives, Documentary heritage, Finding aids, Processing, Public programming, Reference services, Web 2.0 technologies ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare if you have a bad team (Maxwell nd). Indeed this work was not going to be successful without the many players who greatly assisted in the production of this thesis. Special commendation goes to my supervisor, Professor Patrick Ngulube, who did not tire in giving me all the support I needed to pull through the research journey. No volume or type of words may adequately convey the amount of gratitude I have for the intellectual prowess and unwavering support that I received from my supervisor. A very special thanks goes to my co-supervisor, Dr Antonio Rodrigues, for his patience in illustrating how to get things right. He was a pillar of support on which I would rely whenever I felt as if I could not go any further. The study was not going to be successful without the data that was needed to answer the research question and meet the objectives. I therefore wish to extend my sincere gratitude to Mr I. Murambiwa, the Director of NAZ and Mr. D. Maboreke, the Deputy Director of NAZ for giving me their support to conduct research at their institution. I also wish to thank the Ministry of Rural Development, Promotion and Preservation of National Culture and Heritage for giving me the permission to conduct a study at NAZ. My appreciation goes to NAZ practitioners working in the Public Archives and Research Section, Oral History Unit, Records Services, Audiovisual Unit and Information Communication Technology Section. The study was not going to be successful without the data obtained from these offices. I feel greatly indebted to the University of South Africa for awarding me a Postgraduate Bursary. The funds made life easier and allowed me to focus on my studies. I also wish to thank the National University of Science and Technology for granting me study leave, despite me being a relatively new employee in their institution, as well as for the financial support particularly for data collection. iii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my husband, Gerald, and children, Geraldine, Gerald and Gerilyn iv DECLARATION Name: FORGET CHATERERA____ ___________________________ Student number: 47703261 _______________ Degree: Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in Information Science______ A FRAMEWORK FOR ACCESS AND USE OF DOCUMENTARY HERITAGE AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF ZIMBABWE I declare that the above dissertation/thesis is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ________________________ ________________________ (MS. F. CHATERERA) DATE v TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................................... iv DECLARATION .................................................................................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................. xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................. xiv LIST OF APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER ONE .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS TO ACCESS AND USE OF ARCHIVES ...... 1 1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Discussion of key terms and concepts ............................................................................................. 2 1.2.1 Access ..................................................................................................................................... 2 1.2.2 Archives .................................................................................................................................. 3 1.2.3 Documentary heritage ............................................................................................................. 4 1.2.4 Finding aids ............................................................................................................................. 5 1.2.5 Reference services ................................................................................................................... 6 1.2.6 Processing ............................................................................................................................... 8 1.2.7 Archival public programming ................................................................................................. 9 1.2.8 Web 2.0 technologies ............................................................................................................ 10 1.3 Background to the study ................................................................................................................ 10 1.4 Historical setting of the National Archives of Zimbabwe (NAZ) .................................................. 12 1.5 Research problem........................................................................................................................... 16 1.6 Research aim .................................................................................................................................. 17 1.7 Research objectives ........................................................................................................................ 17 1.8 Research questions ......................................................................................................................... 18 1.9 Justification and originality of the study ........................................................................................ 20 1.10 Assumptions of the study .......................................................................................................... 24 1.11 Scope and delimitations of the study ......................................................................................... 25 1.12 Limitations of the study ............................................................................................................. 26 1.13 Methodology overview .............................................................................................................

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