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…