MEMORIES IN TRANSIT

AFRICAN ARCHIVES IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

Abstract

Digital infrastructures are transforming the ways in which African documentary memory is preserved, represented, and disseminated, while also highlighting issues related to colonial legacies, control over collections, and the technological autonomy of memory institutions. This study aims to analyze the relationships between memory, archives, and digital preservation, with an emphasis on Angola’s public university libraries and the possibilities offered by open-source technologies. The objective is to examine the potential and limitations of these infrastructures for the preservation and circulation of documentary memory in Angola’s public university libraries, linking memory, archives, and digital preservation from African and Angolan perspectives. The theoretical framework prioritizes African and Angolan perspectives on memory, archives, heritage, and digital environments, in dialogue with Mabeko-Tali, Maina, Mosweu, Ngulube, and Ngoepe, complemented by Assmann’s studies on cultural memory and Agualusa’s literary exploration of Angolan memory. Methodologically, this study is characterized as qualitative, exploratory, and bibliographic-documentary research, guided by content analysis. The examined literature shows that digital preservation in African contexts involves documentary representation, archival silences, the permanence of records, and institutional conditions for technological management. In the Angolan context, archives and libraries serve as spaces for the preservation and mediation of records linked to historical and social memory. It is considered that open-source technologies can expand the possibilities for digital management and preservation, provided that their adoption is linked to institutional policies, infrastructure, technical expertise, and local participation in decisions regarding information systems.