Preservation education in South African library and archive degree programmes

Abstract

This paper investigates preservation education options for library and archive students at degree granting institutions in South Africa through examining the following questions: which institutions offer separate classes or modules dedicated preservation issues; what academic levels are the existing classes directed towards and how often are they offered; what preservation issues are covered in existing classes and modules; what is the preservation-related experience of the instructors, and; how do South Africa's offerings compare internationally? The paper also evaluates the appropriateness of the preservation content offered against established benchmarks.