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Preserving and Digitizing Djenné’s Manuscript Collections: The Politics of Space and Agency in Central Mali

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2020

Elke E. Stockreiter
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Abstract

This article explores archival practices and ownership of the largely Arabic manuscript collections at the Djenné Manuscript Library. From 2009 to 2017 grants from the British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme enabled the preservation of 8,520 manuscripts and digitization of about 400,000 folios. In a politically volatile environment like Mali, the future of historical research is mostly contingent on the availability of digital archives. While these archives enable research that otherwise could not be conducted, they also limit the research experience in situ and thus affect findings. For the manuscript owners, questions arise about digital imperialism.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article analyse les pratiques archivistiques et la question de la propriété des collections de manuscrits en grande partie arabes de la bibliothèque de manuscrits de Djenné. De 2009 à 2017, les financements du programme Endangered Archives de la British Library ont permis de préserver 8 520 manuscrits et de numériser environ 400 000 folios. Dans un environnement politiquement instable comme celui du Mali, l’avenir de la recherche historique dépend principalement de la disponibilité des archives numériques. Bien que ces archives permettent des recherches qui ne pourraient pas être autrement menées, elles limitent également l’expérience de recherche in situ et par conséquent ses résultats. Pour les propriétaires de manuscrits, des questions se posent à propos de l’impérialisme numérique.

Type
Archives and the Digital Turn
Information
History in Africa , Volume 47 , June 2020 , pp. 119 - 142
Copyright
© African Studies Association, 2020

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