Digitization of Uganda’s Musical Cultural Heritage

DIGITIZATION OF UGANDA’S MUSICAL CULTURAL HERITAGE: LESSONS FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY DIGITAL ARCHIVE – By Agnes Namaganda This paper documents the learning experience of the Makerere University Digital Music Archive. It focuses on issues of digitizing sound, intellectual property management, and sustainability. Abrupt technological changes have rendered certain media obsolete hence limited access to music information. Project tasks included identification, selection, preparation of materials, and collection of basic descriptive metadata to allow retrieval. Internationally recognized standard were used to convert from analogue to digital. To create awareness, sensitization seminars were conducted. Collections to-date include: approximately 3,000 sound recordings, 545 video recordings, and 286 photographs, and 1015 items documented. The pace of digitization is slow due to scarcity of playback equipment, copyright issues, and inadequate technical skills. It is envisaged that digitization will improve preservation and access to the musical cultural heritage. However, adequate equipment, funding, training of staff, enforcement of appropriate laws, and provision of improved facilities need to be put in place for studying music in its various formats.