The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) welcomes the University of South Africa (UNISA): Department of Library & Information Services, as they become the Coalition’s newest Full Member.
With its main campus in Pretoria, UNISA has one of the largest academic libraries in Africa. The aim of the library is to ensure that its resource selection and digital preservation practices directly support students and researchers by providing study, teaching and research materials regardless of transactional distance or time barriers, in any format that is available.
As an open distance learning institution serving students across the continent and the globe, UNISA depends on linking learning with systems and making technology accessible, understandable and subservient to the intellectual enterprise of the university.
“UNISA Library and Information Services wishes to align itself with a credible and long-standing body that brings communities focusing on Digital Preservation and sharing lessons learned," explains Daisy Selematsela, Executive Director.
“By making connections with other world-class organisation from around the world, we hope to apply these lessons to our own work in support of the Universities aims.”
As Full Members, members of the UNISA team join colleagues at the University of Cape Town and others as part of the DPC’s Representative Council, which ensures that the Coalition remains tightly focussed on its strategic plan, and that the strategic plan remains relevant to members' emerging needs.
William Kilbride, Executive Director of the DPC was delighted with the news, saying: “The team at UNISA are part of an active and dynamic digital preservation community in South Africa and bring a wealth of valuable experience and skills to the Coalition. As an open distance learning institution with dispersed locations they have both a challenge and an opportunity to support students around the world, and we are very excited to support this work through the DPC.”
The not-for-profit DPC is an international advocate for digital preservation, helping members around the world to deliver resilient long-term access to digital content and services through community engagement, targeted advocacy work, training and workforce development, capacity building, good practice and standards, and through good management and governance. Its vision is a secure digital legacy.
Click for more information about: