A Multi-Disciplinary, Multi-Lingual Approach to African Information Resources Retrieval
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Transcript of 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 ConferenceUNLV, Nevada, June 4-6, 2008
African Studies at UCLA Many academic disciplines and
programs
MAAS & MAAS/MPHBA minorBA African Langs. Afr. Langs. &
Cultures Africa specialization at all degree levelsInterdisciplinary research
Various levels of library users
UndergradsGrad studentsFacultyVisitors
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-south4,600 miles west-east
Source: Encyclopeadia Britannica Online (accessed May 16, 2008)
Example of Peters Projection
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 librarymaterialspersonnelspace
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 needsUsers’ language proficiencies
Ethnologue can help:
http://www.ethnologue.com/
Geographic scopeContinent-wide and/or diasporaCountry, 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…