Taking archives to the people. The use of social media as a tool to promote public archives in South Africa
| Published date | 16 September 2019 |
| Pages | 374-388 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-11-2017-0228 |
| Date | 16 September 2019 |
| Author | Jonathan Mukwevho,Mpho Ngoepe |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information user studies,Metadata,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
Taking archives to the people
The use of social media as a tool to promote
public archives in South Africa
Jonathan Mukwevho
Auditor-General South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa, and
Mpho Ngoepe
University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
Abstract
Purpose –Despite the availability of the mandate of public archives repositories to “take archives to the
people in South Africa”, archives in South Africa remain largely the domain of the elite. The purpose of this
paper is to investigate the adoption of social media in South Africa as a tool for taking archives to the people
especially young people between the age of 13 and 34. The researchers confined the study to all ten public
archives repositories in South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach –This quantitative study collected data using survey questionnaires and
web-based content analysis of social media presence of public archives repositories.
Findings –The study revealed that few public archives repositories are using Facebook, followed by Twitter
and LinkedIn to engage users. The public archives repositories rely mostly on social media platforms
operated by their mother bodies as they are subsidiary units within arts and culture departments in
government. As a result, public archives repositories are restricted to operate their own accounts on social
media. It is argued that public archives should be allowed by their mother departments to operate their own
accounts on social media platforms. Failure to change this restriction could lead to public archival institutions
continuing to take archives away from the people, instead of taking archives to the people.
Research limitations/implications –The study sought to provide useful practical implications for public
archives repositories as it would serve as a benchmarking tool to enable the development and reporting on the
visibility and accessibility of archival material, and thus ensure an increased public knowledge of archives.
Originality/value –The study triangulated data collection instruments that helped to collect as much and
as diverse data as possible, which generated the best possible insights into the phenomenon of interest.
Previous similar studies in South Africa utilised only survey method with either interviews or questionnaires
as data collection tools.
Keywords Social media, South Africa, Archives, Archives repositories, Provincial archives,
Public programming
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Part of the mandate of public archives repositories in South Africa is to take archives to the
people, especially the previously marginalised population of the country such as youth and
black people. These groups of people seem to not be using the archives due to reasons such
as lack of awareness or archival holdings not reflecting their needs (Ngoepe, 2017). In terms
of section 5(1)(c) of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (NARSSA)
Act, the national archivist shall, with special emphasis on activities designed to reach out to
less privileged sectors of society, make known information concerning records by means
such as publications, exhibitions and the lending of records. This mandate positions
archives to play an important role in redress, transformation and knowledge production.
Despite the availability of the mandate, archives in South Africa remain largely the domain
of the elite (Ngoepe and Ngulube, 2011). This is so because the strategies adopted by
archives repositories in South Africa have failed to “take the archives to the people”,
resulting in what Conradie (2012) calls an “old boys’club”comprising mainly male
Afrikaner genealogical researchers using archives. Social media offers an opportunity
not to be missed to take archives to the people, especially young people. A study by
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 37 No. 3, 2019
pp. 374-388
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/LHT-11-2017-0228
Received 13 November 2017
Revised 12 June 2018
17 August 2018
Accepted 7 September 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
374
LHT
37,3
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