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A multi-Disciplinary, Multi-Lingual Approach to African Information Resources Retrieval
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tarix | 30.10.2018 | ölçüsü | 5,18 Mb. | | #76657 |
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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
- BA African Langs. Afr. Langs. & Cultures
- Africa specialization at all degree levels
- Interdisciplinary research
Various levels of library users Undergrads Grad students Faculty Visitors
Africa spans a vast geographic area 11,724,000 sq. miles (cf. USA 3,676,486 sq. miles, incl. Alaska & Hawaii) 4,600 miles west-east Source: Encyclopeadia Britannica Online (accessed May 16, 2008)
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 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 library materials space
Language Material Types Official docs.: pre-colonial to current Political movements archives; ephemera Literature and language, incl. dictionaries 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 needs Users’ language proficiencies Ethnologue can help: http://www.ethnologue.com/
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
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…
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