Annual Library Symposium / IFLA Presidential Meeting 2010
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- ItemThe access to information divide : breaking down barriers(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2010) Savenije, BasPaper presented at the Stellenbosch University Library 2010 Symposium / IFLA Presidential Meeting. Knowing is not enough: Engaging in the knowledge economy, 18 to 19 February 2010. The “access to information divide” between the developed countries and the developing countries is growing wider. This growing divide, due to barriers to access to information, stifles the growth and development of developing countries. Opening access to information and breaking down those access barriers become an absolute necessity. The presentation analyses the economic impact of Open Access, and describes scenarios to improve the accessibility of knowledge and the role libraries could play in this.
- ItemOpen access publishing and supporting a knowledge economy(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2010) Rosenberg, GarryPaper presented at the Stellenbosch University Library 2010 Symposium / IFLA Presidential Meeting. Knowing is not enough: Engaging in the knowledge economy, 18 to 19 February 2010. Access to information and knowledge is a fundamental requirement for the development of a knowledge-based economy. From a publisher’s perspective the potential and pitfalls of open access publishing will be assessed in relation to providing a platform for a knowledge-based economy. The speaker will draw on experience gained as the Director of an open access Press in South Africa to address the issue.
- ItemInterfacing indigenous knowledge with other knowledge systems in the knowledge economy : the South African case(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2010) Seleti, YonahPaper presented at the Stellenbosch University Library 2010 Symposium / IFLA Presidential Meeting. Knowing is not enough: Engaging in the knowledge economy, 18 to 19 February 2010.
- ItemPromoting African indigenous knowledge in the knowledge economy : exploring the role of higher education and libraries(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2010) Moahi, Kgomotso H.Paper presented at the Stellenbosch University Library 2010 Symposium / IFLA Presidential Meeting. Knowing is not enough: Engaging in the knowledge economy, 18 to 19 February 2010. Every community has its own knowledge system which enables it to survive, relate and make sense of its context and environment. As such, indigenous knowledge (IK) is not necessarily the preserve of the African continent and its people. However, the fact is that Africa has a lot to offer in terms of its IK and studies have shown that IK is used and applied by a majority of communities in the African setting in the areas of health, agriculture, arts, education, etc. The issue though is that much of IK is under threat of disappearing and is also not in any way considered as an integral part of the knowledge economy as we know it. Generally, Africa is said to only contribute roughly 1% of the knowledge within the knowledge economy. Indeed, Africa is known to be a knowledge consumer, rather than a knowledge generator. Whatever knowledge that comes out of African IK is more often than not knowledge that was taken out and appropriated elsewhere without acknowledgement or gain for the community from which it was taken or originated from. This paper will explore why Africa’s IK is not playing a more active and visible role in the knowledge economy (other than as exotic arts and crafts). The reasons are many, but the fact of the matter is that the very history of the African continent has a lot to do with it, from the days of being colonized, to the ways that academics and librarians perceive their role. The paper will also explore the roles that both academia and librarians must play if IK is to feature prominently in the knowledge economy.
- ItemCultural heritage and the knowledge economy : the role and value of sound archives and sound archiving in developing countries(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2010) Watson, Elizabeth F.Paper presented at the Stellenbosch University Library 2010 Symposium / IFLA Presidential Meeting. Knowing is not enough: Engaging in the knowledge economy, 18 to 19 February 2010. At first glance the concepts of cultural heritage and the knowledge economy may appear to be divorced from each other. Indeed, the contrary is the case. According to UNESCO, cultural heritage “encompasses living expressions and the traditions that countless groups and communities worldwide have inherited from their ancestors and transmit to their descendants, in most cases orally.” The “in most cases orally” caveat signifies that whereas during colonization the peoples of the Caribbean and Africa were considered to be culture-less our societies and communities were in fact very rich and vibrant culturally. This created heritages that could successfully rival any from any other part of the world. However, the vast repertoire of heritage of the peoples of these areas does not often factor in general considerations of heritage. The perception that colonized communities were culture-less was nourished on the notion that because many of our cultural expressions and practices were not codified in printed books, music scores and other European means of communication and preservation – therefore there was no culture according to those measures. The knowledge economy is often narrowly defined by many as being that which is associated with/driven by ICT technologies. In reality, the knowledge economy is that which is based on the intellectual capital of a nation, community or individual. This more pragmatic concept of the knowledge economy would therefore, of necessity, include cultural creativity and expressions as two important factors of this mode of production, driver of growth, creator of wealth and provider of employment. According to Nurse “in economic terms, the cultural industries sector is one of the fastest growing sectors of the world economy”. Thus, in economic terms, culture and cultural heritage must be viewed as critical aspects of the knowledge economy, given that they depend on knowledge that is culturally-based as their mainstay and an intellectual capital whose means of production, distribution and preservation are often intangible. Music and song were two of the critical means of communicating culture and transmitting heritage from generation-to-generation within Africa and the Caribbean. And yet, the music and song of these spaces is often hard to find, is poorly documented and not well preserved/conserved in libraries throughout these regions. This presentation will examine the role and value of sound archives and sound archiving for both cultural heritage and the development and furtherance of the knowledge economy of African and Caribbean societies.