A multi-Disciplinary, Multi-Lingual Approach to African Information Resources Retrieval

A Multi-Disciplinary, Multi-Lingual Approach to African Information Resources Retrieval

• Ruby A. Bell-Gam

• UCLA

• Presented at LOEX-of-the-West Conference

• UNLV, Nevada, June 4-6, 2008

African Studies at UCLA

• Many academic disciplines and programs

• MAAS & MAAS/MPH
• BA minor
• BA African Langs.  Afr. Langs. & Cultures
• Africa specialization at all degree levels
• Interdisciplinary research

• Various levels of library users

• Undergrads

• Grad students

• Faculty

• Visitors

Africa spans a vast geographic area

• 11,724,000 sq. miles

• (cf. USA 3,676,486 sq. miles, incl. Alaska & Hawaii)

• 5,000 miles north-south

• 4,600 miles west-east

• Source: Encyclopeadia Britannica Online (accessed May 16, 2008)

• Africa is rich in languages

• Over 1,000 distinct African languages

• Linguistic legacy of European colonization

• A few major African languages:

• Arabic, Swahili, Yoruba, Zulu, Hausa, Amharic, Tigrinya, Luo, Pula, Wolof, Afrikaans, Bamana, Igbo, Berber, creoles and pidgins

• Important European languages:

• English, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Spanish

African information landscape

• Materials published worldwide--

• colonial legacy; emigration; geopolitics

• Primary sources held worldwide

• Bibliographic control and reference tools largely print-dependent

• Tools are often separated by language

• Not enough librarians (incl. tech services) to meet user needs

• Introducing possibilities

• the library

• materials

• personnel

• space

Language Material Types

• Official docs.: pre-colonial to current

• Political movements archives; ephemera

• Literature and language, incl. dictionaries

• Artworks, photographs

• Film, video, music, recorded speech

• Manuscripts, diaries, travelogues

• Maps, Atlases, Gazetteers

• Surveys, data sets, statistics,

• Newspapers, magazines, interviews

Information retrieval strategies

• Identify relevant languages (and keywords) based on:

• Users’ current information needs

• Users’ language proficiencies

• Ethnologue can help:

• http://www.ethnologue.com/

• Geographic scope

• Continent-wide and/or diaspora

• Country, sub-region, city/town

• Historical context and variant names;

• e.g., Republic of Benin & Dahomey, or Benin City, Benin Kingdom, Edo

• Names of persons—authors, political leaders, historical figures—and their variant forms

• Names of ethnic groups and their geographic location(s)

• Ethnologue and HRAF (or eHRAF)

Conclusion

• Keeping it simple, despite complexity

• Once you’re done,

• it’s only just beginning…