Preserving the past for future generations: UKZN Library's digitisation Journey

 

By Dr Roshini Pather

Have you ever wondered what happens to a thesis after it is submitted? Today, every UKZN thesis is submitted electronically and added to the University's growing digital research collection on ResearchSpace – the Institutional Repository.   However, this was not always the case. Before electronic submission was introduced in 2009, postgraduate research was submitted in print and stored on library shelves, meaning that valuable research could only be accessed by those who were able to visit the Library in person.

Over the years, UKZN Library Services has worked to change that. Through ongoing digitisation initiatives, thousands of theses have been converted from print to digital format and made available online through ResearchSpace. What was once accessible only within the walls of the Library can now be discovered and used by researchers across the world, ensuring that UKZN's research legacy remains visible, accessible and preserved for future generations.

Preserving older collections has become increasingly important. Printed materials can deteriorate over time due to age, frequent handling, environmental conditions and even unexpected events such as floods or fires. By creating digital copies, we can ensure that valuable knowledge is not lost and remains available for current and future generations.  Through digitisation, valuable resources can be preserved without compromising their long-term integrity.

Digitisation also opens up new opportunities for learning and research. Instead of travelling to a specific library location, users can access resources online anytime from wherever they are. This makes research more convenient and helps increase the visibility and impact of scholarly work produced at UKZN.

   Call to Action: Help Preserve UKZN's Research Legacy

One of the Library's key digitisation initiatives is the Retrospective Thesis Digitisation Project. The project focuses on converting older print theses into digital formats so that they can be preserved and made accessible through ResearchSpace.

As one of South Africa's early adopters of Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs), UKZN has been preserving and sharing its research outputs digitally since the launch of ResearchSpace in 2009. Over the years, the University has undertaken several large-scale digitisation initiatives to bring its valuable print thesis collection online. Major digitisation projects in 2012 and 2019 significantly expanded the repository, and by 2020, the remaining 13,077 theses dating back to 2000 were uploaded to ResearchSpace, making a substantial body of UKZN's postgraduate research more accessible to scholars around the world.

 When the country went into lockdown in 2020, UKZN Library Services turned a challenging period into an opportunity to further strengthen the University's digital collections. It was a remarkable team effort involving Library staff across all campuses, who worked together to digitise thousands of print theses representing decades of postgraduate scholarship. In just two months, more than 2,000 theses were digitised and added to ResearchSpace, ensuring continued access to critical research during a time when physical collections were inaccessible.

While the vast majority of the collection was successfully digitised, some theses could not be processed at the time due to missing copies, quality issues or other constraints. With the current Retrospective Thesis Digitisation Project, the Library continues to identify and digitise these outstanding titles, ensuring that as much of UKZN's research history as possible is preserved, discoverable and accessible for future generations and the project is helping to create lasting opportunities for learning, research and innovation. 

How You Can Help

The success of the Retrospective Thesis Digitisation Project relies on the support and collaboration of the entire UKZN community. From researchers and alumni to current students and academics, everyone can play a part in helping to preserve the University's rich research heritage.

If you are the author of a UKZN thesis and cannot find your work on ResearchSpace, we encourage you to get in touch with the Library and submit a copy for inclusion in this project. Similarly, if you are searching for a thesis that is not currently available online, please let us know. This helps us identify missing titles and prioritise them for digitisation.

By contributing to this initiative, you are helping to safeguard UKZN's scholarly legacy, improve access to valuable research, and increase the visibility of knowledge produced at the University. Together, we can safeguard UKZN's rich research heritage and continue building a digital collection that informs, inspires and supports future scholarship. As we preserve the past, we are also creating new opportunities for discovery, innovation and academic excellence.

Your thesis is more than just a requirement for a qualification—it is part of UKZN's knowledge legacy. Help us keep that knowledge alive, discoverable and available to researchers for years to come.

To contact the Library about a missing thesis or to submit a copy for digitisation, please email researchspace@ukzn.ac.za or contact your nearest UKZN Library. Our team will be happy to assist and provide guidance on the submission process.