Maintenance practices of born-digital archival for effective service delivery in academic libraries in the South-East Zone of Nigeria

Abstract

This paper sets to explore the maintenance practices of born-digital archival resources in academic libraries in South East, Nigeria. The maintenance practices of born-digital archival resources is of global interests particularly in academic institutions where information are created and generated digitally in accordance with the trends of events in this internet driven period. Several research findings show that lack of proper maintenance practices for born-digital archival materials can result in bit rot, inaccessibility of information and loss. The maintenance practices for non-digital archival resources are commonly found while those of born-digital archival resources are understudied especially in the academic libraries in developing countries such as Nigeria. Quantum's of born-digital archival resources are generated in the academic institutions on the course of their daily transactions of teaching, learning and research. Academic libraries serve maximally in terms of acquisition, maintenance of these resources digitally for continuous accessibility. A descriptive survey was employed, and the population consisted of 277 library staff. The instrument used for collecting data was questionnaire and data were analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences version 2.0, with mean scores, frequencies, and percentages used for data analysis. The findings revealed that CD ROMs, bibliographic databases, electronic books, digital photographs, institutional repositories, and software applications were available in academic libraries. The maintenance practices adopted for born-digital archival resources included technology preservation, data refreshing, emulation, and migration. The library staff in academic libraries, particularly in developing countries are to be conversant with current trends and innovations in maintenance practices of born-digital archival resources for relevance and accessibility.