Durban - Several incidents in South Africa and around the world in recent years, where libraries and other repositories of information and history were deliberately destroyed or lost through fire or other natural disaster, have highlighted the need for serious consideration of how such precious knowledge is stored and made accessible.
In the latest incident, irreplaceable historical photographic collections and other valuable publications were lost when a fire destroyed the Jagger Reading Room at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
Understandably, there have been international expressions of concern for the welfare of UCT students (none of whom was injured) and lament for the loss of the material.
Word is still awaited on the fate of such items as South Africa’s oldest bible, a copy of the first book to contain photographic illustrations, and a rare 19th and early 20th century collection on Southern African languages.
While the immediate effort must be directed to getting students back into their residences and lecture theatres, the incident must serve as a spur for a national conversation on the preservation of our knowledge and history.
Libraries and museums serve as repositories of historically and culturally significant material, some of which may not be available elsewhere in the world.
They preserve knowledge accumulated by past generations, which is required to advance research and take knowledge further, and preserve heritage for future generations.
A fire or other disaster can lay waste to such documents, depriving current and future generations of their content.
Technology offers solutions which will not only ensure that information is safeguarded for future generations, but will make it far more easily and widely accessible.
The enduring allure of the printed word notwithstanding, the need for digitisation as a preservation strategy cannot be argued against.
Nearly every format held by libraries, from printed material to sound and film, can be stored in a digital format, ensuring that copies can be reproduced if the original is lost or destroyed, and that the material can be accessed from anywhere in the world.
It is imperative that funds are urgently allocated to embark on a mass project to digitally archive the country's cultural riches, before more irreplaceable material is lost in another disaster.
The Independent on Saturday