Library Publications

Permanent URI for this collection

https://bdears.busitema.ac.ug/handle/123456789/545

Browse

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11

(Re)connecting with Indigenous cultural expression(s): Emerging frameworks for empowering Indigenous voices, agency, and authority
(Sage, 2026) Weiss, E. Nancy
This essay explores the global paradigm shift from marginalization and diminishment to recognition and respect of Indigenous cultures. Drawing on recent developments, it highlights laws, policies, and practices aimed at reconnecting Indigenous communities with their cultural expressions. Three key frameworks emerge as pathways for empowering Indigenous voices and agency: (1) authority, emphasizing Tribal sovereignty and self-determination in cultural stewardship; (2) voice, showcasing a renaissance in Indigenous representation across arts, media, and literature, as well as institutional shifts prioritizing Indigenous narratives; and (3) agency, where engagement fosters understanding and informed decision-making. Through these frameworks, cultural agencies and institutions are adopting community-driven practices, co-curating collections, and revising policies to honor Indigenous knowledge and approaches. By centering Indigenous authority, amplifying voices, and fostering authentic consultations, this paradigm shift not only helps address historical injustices but also strengthens cultural resilience and vibrancy. By integrating legal, ethical, and cultural considerations, cultural institutions can support a future where Indigenous voices are not only heard, but also actively shape the narrative of Indigenous heritage and rights. Keywords Principles of library and information science, copyright/intellectual property, global perspectives on libraries and information, cultural heritage management
Inﬂuence of Indigenous data governance principles on Indigenous knowledge management: Lessons from the Southern African Intangible Cultural Heritage Project
(Sage, 2026) Chigwada, Josiline; Mapara, Jacob; Ngulube, Patrick; Chabvutagondo, Tavhiringwa
The study investigates the impact of Indigenous data governance principles on managing Indigenous knowledge. Indigenous communities possess rich knowledge systems that are crucial for sustainable development and community well-being. However, managing this knowledge faces challenges, including inadequate data governance frameworks that fail to align with Indigenous values, protocols and ownership rights. This research explores how integrating Indigenous data governance principles into knowledge management practices enhances cultural autonomy, strengthens community resilience and fosters sustainable development. Drawing on a qualitative methodology including web content analysis, document analysis and personal experiences, a case study of the Southern African Intangible Cultural Heritage Project was carried out. The data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. The FAIR (ﬁndable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) and CARE (collective beneﬁt, authority to control, responsibility, ethics) principles were utilized as the guiding data governance principles. The ﬁndings highlight the importance of culturally sensitive data protocols, community-driven decision-making processes, and reciprocal partnerships between Indigenous communities and database managers. This research offers insights into transformative approaches for advancing Indigenous knowledge sovereignty. Keywords CARE principles, cultural heritage, FAIR principles, Indigenous knowledge, SAICH Project, Southern African Intangible Cultural Heritage
Indigenous knowledge for climate change adaptation among Tanzanian smallholder farmers: A systematic review
(Sage, 2026) Sospeter, E. Martinus; Mtega, Pius Wulystan; Malekani, Andrew
This study investigates the use of Indigenous knowledge for climate change adaptation and mitigation among smallholder farmers in Tanzania. It adheres to the PRISM (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. The study includes 20 peer-reviewed articles published between 2004 and 2023. The ﬁndings show that Indigenous knowledge is acquired from various sources, including personal experience, parents, friends and community members. Elders are key custodians of Indigenous knowledge. Smallholder farmers employ various techniques to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change, including mixed farming practices, crop diversiﬁcation, the use of traditional water dams, prayer and cultural rituals, participating in non-farming activities, entrepreneurship and the use of locally made pesticides. The ﬁndings imply that Indigenous knowledge has the potential to solve contextual-based problems. This review recommends further research to document Indigenous knowledge of climate change adaptation across all regions and ethnic groups in Tanzania. Keywords Indigenous knowledge, climate change adaptation, smallholder farmers, Tanzania, local knowledge
Exploring control of access to the Japadhola indigenous information
(Sage, 2026) Okello, Gilbert; Bukirwa, Joyce; Magara, Elisam
An ethnographic study was conducted to explore the signiﬁcance of protecting indigenous knowledge and practices in Uganda, focusing on the Japadhola community in Nagongera, Tororo District, Uganda. Despite Uganda’s recognition of its indigenous communities in the 1995 Constitution, there remains a signiﬁcant gap in the protection and promotion of indigenous heritage. Employing ethnography and critical indigenous research methodology (CIRM), this study highlights the unique ways in which the Japadhola community accesses and controls its indigenous knowledge, arguing against its inclusion in the public domain and calling for a reevaluation of legal protections in Uganda. Data were collected through ethnographic methods, including interviews, observations, document reviews, and focus group discussions. We then analyzed the data qualitatively using a grounded theory approach with MaxQDA24 software. The ﬁndings reveal that the Japadhola community employs highly developed and complex access control mechanisms, contributing to contemporary debates on information access and offering insights into African indigenous communities. The study advocates policies that respect and protect the cultural heritage of Uganda’s diverse indigenous communities, providing recommendations to various stakeholders. Keywords Access control, critical indigenous research methodology, ethnography, indigenous knowledge, indigenous knowledge protection, intellectual property rights, Japadhola community, Uganda
Beyond acknowledgement: Indigenous centered projects on reclamation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
(Sage, 2026) Anderson, G. Bethany; Krupa, L. Krystiana; Sutton, A. Elizabeth; Tapaha, G. Oliver
This essay discusses the work of several campus units and projects at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign that center and build collaborative relationships with Tribal Nations, and support the efforts of sovereign Nations to access and manage their cultural heritage. These projects and initiatives include the NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) Ofﬁce, which develops strategies with partner Tribal Nations to facilitate repatriation; the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, which has partnered with Native and Indigenous artists and communities to develop exhibitions and programs; the University of Illinois Archives, which has been collaborating with Native communities to co-curate and co-develop access protocols for archival materials collected by anthropologists in the 1960s; and the Round Rock Community History Project, which engages Kindergarten to Grade 8 students and teachers at a reservation-based school on the Navajo Nation in partnership with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Collaborative for Harmony, Empowerment, and Innovation. Keywords NAGPRA, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, repatriation, museums, cultural heritage management, principles of library and information science
Affective encounters with digital knowledge collections : towards supporting Indigenous wellbeing.
(Sage, 2026) Lipscombe, Ailsa; Liew, Li Chern
Building on discussions in the Information Sciences on responsibility and decolonizing digitization, we emphasize how cultural context is key, not only for understanding matauranga Maori [Maori Indigenous knowledge], but also for ethically and compassionately caring for such knowledges in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our korero [dialogues] with Maori archival users highlight the intricate ways digital knowledge collections are embedded within—and accessed through—webs of social practices, including those that support intergenerational knowledge transmission, whanaugatanga [kinship] and turangawaewae [one’s connection to self through place]. We introduce the concept of “awhi”—meaning to support, cherish, or nurture—to frame the ethical archiving of matauranga Maori in Aotearoa New Zealand. We contend that awhi is an interpersonal invitation to center dynamic relational partnerships, guided in the Aotearoa context by the tikanga [customary practices or behaviors], kawa [protocols], and whanonga pono [values] that our communities ﬁnd meaningful. Keywords Decolonization, digital archiving, emotionality, ethics of care, Indigeneity, relationality
Introduction: stewarding indigenous knowledge through ethics, law and the archive.
(IFLA, 2026) International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
Indigenous knowledges, languages and histories are prevalent in libraries, archives and museums but often face issues that stem from colonialism, structural racism or assimilation. Professionals working and researching in these areas must work with Indigenous knowledge experts and systems of memory to consider legal issues and ethical mandates when acting as custodians of the rich cultural heritage of Indigenous Peoples. With the expansion of digital collections and archives, these issues can be highlighted, healed or reinforced in complex ways.
Impact factor, predatory & plagiarism
(Busitema University, 2026) Lugya, Fredrick Kiwuwa.
These two working documents provide a comprehensive overview of key concepts in scholarly communication, focusing on journal evaluation and publication ethics. The first document defines journal impact factors as citation-based metrics that indicate a journal’s prestige, and introduces popular tools such as CiteScore, SCImago Journal Rank (SJR), and the h-index. It also addresses the threat of predatory journals, offering resources like COPE and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) to verify legitimacy. Additionally, it outlines common causes of unintentional plagiarism, including inconsistent citations and poor referencing. The second document expands on calculating and comparing impact factors using databases like Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. It provides a detailed comparison of their coverage, strengths, and weaknesses. Together, these documents serve as a practical guide for researchers to identify reputable journals, understand citation metrics, and maintain academic integrity through proper attribution.
Reframing library search as cognitive work : introducing the Library Search Analysis (LSA) model
(Taylor & Francis group, 2026) Lugya, Kiwuwa Fredrick; State, Nassali Eliz
Information behaviour research has evolved from a traditional focus on information sources to a user-centric perspective. While Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) is a well-established framework for analysing complex sociotechnical systems in domains like process control and aviation, its application remains nascent within the specific context of library and information science, particularly for modelling endogenous user search behaviour. This paper posits a novel theoretical integration, arguing that CWA’s constraint-based, work-centred framework provides a uniquely powerful lens to move beyond descriptive models of information seeking. We propose a refined, user-centred application of CWA to dissect the complex interplay between the library environment, organisational structures, user tasks, and cognitive strategies. This approach offers a novel methodological pathway to generate design requirements for information systems that are not merely usable but are cognitively congruent, supporting the adaptive expertise of library users. By bridging CWA’s systemic rigour with the nuanced realities of information behaviour, this paper aims to advance both theoretical discourse and practical design paradigms within information science. Keywords: Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) ; Information Behaviour ; Library Search Strategies ; Cognitive Ergonomics ; Constraint-Based Analysis ; Library Search Analysis (LSA) model
Enhancing access and efficiency: the role of library research guides in supporting academic success at Busitema University
(Elsevier Inc., 2025) Lugya, Fredrick Kiwuwa.
This mixed-methods study evaluates the implementation, perceived impact, and systemic barriers of standardized research guides at Busitema University, a multi-campus institution in Uganda. Through concurrent qualitative and quantitative data collection—including in-depth interviews with 30 students and 15 lecturers, open-ended surveys (n = 142), and document analysis—the research identifies both the transformative potential and critical limitations of the discipline-specific guides. Findings reveal a significant awareness gap, with 55 % of interviewed students unaware of the guides' existence. Among regular users (40 % of interviewed students), concentrated in Engineering and Health Sciences, self-reported data indicated perceived time savings and enhanced research efficiency. The study highlights the pivotal role of lecturer-librarian collaboration, with successful partnerships in 8 of 15 cases correlating with higher reported guide engagement. However, institutional constraints—such as lack of recognition for collaborative work, cited by 73 % of non-adopting lecturers—and infrastructural challenges, including weekly internet outages faced by 75 % of rural students, significantly hindered scalability and consistent access. The research demonstrates how localized content curation, incorporating 336 Ugandan policies and 524 scholar profiles, enhanced contextual relevance and addressed decolonial pedagogical aims. Persistent issues with content currency, including broken links reported by 23 % of users, underscored sustainability challenges. Based on these findings, we propose an integrated intervention framework grounded in library and pedagogical scholarship: (1) LMS integration for seamless curricular embedding, (2) incentive structures to formalize faculty collaboration, and (3) participatory update cycles to maintain resource relevance. These evidence-based recommendations contribute to global conversations on equitable resource access, offering a replicable model for balancing standardization with contextual flexibility in resource-constrained academic environments.
Advancing research through DataCite’s global access fund : Busitema University, Uganda.
(DataCite, 2024) Lugya, Fredrick Kiwuwa.
This article details Busitema University Library's initiative, funded by DataCite’s Global Access Fund, to promote open scholarship in Uganda. A key output was a week-long "train-the-trainer" workshop in May 2024, which equipped 31 participants from 28 university libraries with skills in open access advocacy, institutional repositories, and DataCite’s persistent identifier services. The goal is to establish a national cohort of "Cadres" to drive the adoption of open infrastructure. The project aims for 100% open scholarship and DataCite services within Ugandan universities within five years. Sustained engagement through an online forum, regular training, and a planned academic paper will maintain momentum. This initiative represents a significant collaborative effort to foster a culture of transparency, accessibility, and enhanced research discoverability across Uganda's academic community.

Browse

Recent Submissions