Digital curation of public archives through free and open-source software in South Africa

Abstract

Free and open-source software (FOSS) offers a viable solution for supporting digital curation, the transfer and long-term preservation of digital archives in South Africa. This is important since many governmental institutions, including archival institutions in South lack of infrastructure including reliable software’s, storage capacity and technical expertise, to ingest digital records as the sharpest thorn in the management and preservation of records. FOSS is lauded for reducing dependence on proprietary technologies, lower software costs, improve interoperability and promote digital sovereignty. Despite these benefits, its implementation across public sector institutions remains limited. Most public archival institutions rely on proprietary and to incur high licensing costs, software vendor lock-in, and limited flexibility. The above-mentioned factors thus threaten sustainability and long-term digital preservation of archives. This qualitative case study utilised constructs from the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) Lifecycle Model, the Records Life Cycle Model, and insights from the literature review to investigate the digital curation of public archives through FOSS in South Africa. Records managers and information technology (IT) specialists were purposively selected from national government departments and the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (NARSSA). Only institutions that had implemented electronic content management or digital records management systems were included in the study. Two participants were selected from each organisation, representing records management and information technology functions. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis to enable methodological triangulation. The data were analysed thematically and presented using themes supported by word clouds, figures, tables, and verbatim quotations in accordance with the study objectives. The analysis generated themes relating to the policy, legislative and standards framework governing FOSS and digital curation; existing digital curation solutions; the digital curation competencies of archives and records professionals; organisational and technological factors influencing the adoption of FOSS; interoperability of digital records management systems; security measures supporting digital curation; and strategies for promoting the implementation of FOSS in the digital curation of public archives in South Africa. The findings reveal that proprietary software dominates digital curation practices within South African national government departments. Most participating institutions rely on commercial enterprise content management systems for records management and digital preservation. Although participants demonstrated awareness of FOSS and recognised several of its potential advantages, this knowledge has not translated into practical implementation. Instead, organisations continue to favour proprietary platforms because of existing institutional investments, established vendor relationships and perceptions regarding technical support and reliability. The study further identified several benefits associated with implementing FOSS for digital curation. Moreover, participant acknowledged that open-source software can significantly reduce software licensing costs, increase organisational flexibility, eliminate vendor lock-in, improve interoperability between information systems and allow institutions to customise software according to their operational requirements. FOSS also promotes transparency, encourages collaborative software development and supports the long-term sustainability of digital preservation initiatives. Furthermore, the availability of source code allows institutions greater control over system development and future technological upgrades. Despite these recognised benefits, the study identified numerous barriers hindering FOSS implementation. These include inadequate management support, limited technical expertise among information technology personnel, insufficient awareness of available FOSS solutions, organisational resistance to technological change, inadequate financial investment in digital preservation initiatives and the absence of comprehensive implementation frameworks. Concerns regarding technical support, software maintenance, staff training and system integration further discourage organisations from migrating away from proprietary platforms. Additionally, procurement practices and existing ICT governance structures tend to favour commercial software vendors, making the transition to FOSS more difficult. The study further established that while South Africa possesses national policies encouraging FOSS adoption, implementation remains fragmented and inconsistent across government departments. Existing policy directives have not been sufficiently translated into organisational strategies, operational guidelines or implementation plans. As such, institutions lack clear governance structures that promote the evaluation and adoption of open-source technologies for digital curation. This policy-practice gap represents one of the major obstacles preventing widespread FOSS implementation within the archival sector. Another important finding concerns organisational capacity since successful implementation of FOSS requires skilled personnel capable of installing, configuring, maintaining and supporting open-source applications. The study found that many public entities experience shortages of specialised digital preservation and open-source software skills. This skills gap limits organisational confidence in adopting FOSS and reinforces continued dependence on proprietary vendors.

Drawing on the findings, the study proposes several strategies for promoting FOSS implementation in digital curation. These include strengthening government commitment to FOSS through enforceable implementation frameworks, developing national guidelines for digital curation using open-source technologies, increasing investment in staff training and capacity building, establishing collaborative communities of practice among archives and government departments, integrating FOSS into archival education programmes and promoting pilot projects that demonstrate successful implementation. The study further recommends partnerships between government, universities, archival institutions and the open-source community to encourage knowledge sharing and technical support. The study concludes that while awareness of FOSS exists within South African public entities, its practical adoption for digital curation remains extremely limited. Proprietary software continues to dominate despite government policy support for open-source technologies and the recognised benefits of FOSS. Unless public institutions address organisational, technical, policy and capacity-related barriers, South Africa is likely to remain dependent on proprietary digital preservation solutions, potentially compromising the long-term sustainability, affordability and independence of its digital archival infrastructure.