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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

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

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  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. Various levels of library users Undergrads Grad students Faculty Visitors

  4. 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)

  5. Example of Peters Projection

  6. Africa is rich in languages Over 1,000 distinct African languages Linguistic legacy of European colonization

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. Introducing possibilities the library materials personnel space

  10. 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

  11. Information retrieval strategies • Identify relevant languages (and keywords) based on: Users’ current information needs Users’ language proficiencies Ethnologue can help: http://www.ethnologue.com/

  12. 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

  13. 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)

  14. Conclusion • Keeping it simple, despite complexity Once you’re done, it’s only just beginning…

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