For more information: www.aluka.org If you have questions: info@aluka.org

Aluka’s Struggles for Freedom in Southern Africa collections are built in close partnership with archives, libraries, and other repositories of historical material in Southern Africa. These institutions contain rich archival resources that are often unknown to outside scholars, and yet critical to an understanding of the region’s history. The insti-tutions are eager to use digital technologies to make their resources more widely available, but many have been constrained from doing so by resource limitations.

This was the case for one of Aluka’s first partners in Southern Africa, the Arquivo Histórico de Moçambique (AHM). AHM, founded in 1934, is the country’s principal repository of historical documents. Shortly after independence in 1974, AHM became administratively linked with the University of Eduardo Mondlane in the capital city Maputo. As a result, it is now heavily used by researchers and stu-dents at the university. AHM is currently raising support interna-tionally for the relocation from its present antiquated building to a new location with improved facilities. AHM contains important

collections on the precolonial history of Mozambique, particularly the 19th century, but the vast majority of its historical material dates from the 20th century. Collectively, the documents encompass a vast amount of data on the political, economic, and social history of Mozambique from local, regional, and national perspectives. In addition to this material, AHM has a substantial set of local news-papers and periodicals and a wealth of maps, photographs, oral his-tories, and audio-visual material. Having more materials available online would reduce the burden on the archives staff and help pre-serve heavily used materials, many of which are in fragile condition. In addition, AHM was eager to attract the attention of a greater number of international scholars from surrounding countries and from outside Africa.

Having more materials available online would reduce the burden on the

archives staff and help preserve heavily used materials, many of which

are in fragile condition

Arquivo Histórico de Moçambique

Community Focus Content Contr ibutor

Clockwise from top right: “[A NOSSA CAPA: Chá e exploração. Slid obtido recentemente no Gurué, onde manobras do capitalismo tentam manter a exploração].”Tempo 250 (1975): front cover; “[A NOSSA CAPA: 25 de Setembro: data do desencadeamento da Luta Armada de Libertação e dia das Forças Armadas de Libertação de Moçambique].” Tempo 260 (1975): front cover; “[A NOSSA CAPA: Angola: guerra contra o imperialismo e Camarada Agostinho Neto, primeiro Presidente da Republica Popular de Angola].” Tempo 268 (1975): front cover.

An in-depth look at an Aluka partnership, contributing materials to the Struggles

for Freedom in Southern Africa collection

The Arquivo Histórico de Moçambique is currently raising support

internationally for the relocation from its present antiquated building to

a new location with improved facilities

040908For more information: www.aluka.org If you have questions: info@aluka.org

Community Focus Content Contr ibutor

Native Affairs Departments, the Portuguese Military Command, and the Secret Police; publications from nationalist movements; and interviews with leading figures in the liberation struggle. The digi-tization lab began operations in the fall of 2005, and by the end of 2007 had scanned 28 623 high-quality images, beginning with a complete run of Tempo from 1974 to 1980. Copies of the digital files have been provided to Aluka for distribution through its online

digital library, access to which will be made available at no cost to universities, libraries, and other educational and cultural institutions in Mozambique and throughout the African continent. This part-nership with the highly visible Aluka project will also help to pub-licize the critical importance of the AHM for scholars and students interested in the history of Mozambique and the broader region.

For more information, regarding the Arquivo Histórico de Moçam-bique (AHM), please visit http://www.ahm.uem.mz/home.htm.

The digitisation lab began operations in the fall of 2005, and by the

end of 2007 had scanned more than 28 000 high-quality images

In 2004, Aluka signed a formal collaboration agreement with AHM. The agreement set up a process whereby a national advisory com-mittee, consisting of leading Mozambican scholars, archivists, and public intellectuals, co-chaired by the Director of AHM (Professor Joel das Neves Tembe) and a leading historian at the University of Eduardo Mondlane (Professor Arlindo Chilundo), is responsible for

selecting materials to be digitised. The documents so selected are intended to illuminate the five broad historical themes that are the principal focus of the project (see www.aluka.org for a description of the themes). Overall, the material selected and digitised will have sufficient depth and significance to allow undergraduates to write research papers and to serve as a point of departure for graduate students and faculty who want to conduct more in-depth research on Mozambique.

Aluka helped establish a digitisation lab to scan AHM collections in house; this lab includes two high-end, large-format flatbed scan-ners, four computers, an upgraded server, black/white and colour printers, a photocopier, and the software needed to operate the equipment and edit the digital files. Although most of the equip-ment was purchased locally, suitable scanners were not available in Mozambique and had to be imported, resulting in lengthy customs delays. But by April 2005, all the equipment had been delivered and set up in a newly renovated, secure room at AHM. AHM provided a three-person team to staff the lab, including a project manager who had attended a training course offered by another of Aluka’s regional partners, Digital Innovation South Africa at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Aluka staff provided additional on-site training on operating the new equipment, creating meta-data records, pro-cessing OCR text files, and editing the digital files.

To date, the national advisory committee has selected more than 50 000 pages of documents deemed to meet the criteria outlined above. These include Mozambique’s leading weekly journal Tempo; key articles from the principal newspaper Noticias; reports from the

Aluka helped establish a digitisation lab to scan Arquivo Histórico de

Moçambique collections in house

Clockwise from top right: “Aspecto da homenagem prestada ao Presidente Nyerere pela população do Maputo á sua chegada ao aeroporto de Louenço Marques].” Tempo 258 (1975): 30-31;“[A NOSSA CAPA: FPLM: o papel da produção no vasto contexto da Reconstrução Nacional].” Tempo 279 (1976): front cover; Tempo 295 (1976): 2.