aserl-collection-strategy Mailing List: FW: Updates to Africa Commons- ASERL Year-End Offer

[John Burger (jburger]

ASERL Friends:

FYI - An update on our offer with Coherent Digital for their "Africa Commons" 
content.  This offer closes on June 30.

Questions / requests for trials / ordering can be directed to Lenny Rogers -- 
lennyrogers [at] coherentdigital.net<mailto:lennyrogers [at] 
coherentdigital.net>.


Kind regards,

--j.e.b.

John Burger, Executive Director
Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL)
540 Asbury Circle, #316
Atlanta, Georgia  30322

404-218-4207 -- cellular


From: lennyrogers [at] coherentdigital.net <lennyrogers [at] 
coherentdigital.net>
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2023 7:18 PM
To: John Burger <jburger [at] aserl.org>
Subject: Updates to Africa Commons- ASERL Year-End Offer
Importance: High

Hi John.  Hoping all is well with you.

I wanted to write and give you an update on how things are going with our 
African Commons offer.  Thus far, we have four confirmed orders from ASERL 
libraries and another has indicated it's on their wishlist.  So, all this to 
say that we're chugging right along, and I hope to have more confirmation, soon.

As we are quickly approaching the year-end can I ask you to please send an 
update to your Collection Strategy group, summarized below:
_________________________________________


  *   Coherent Digital has added three additional magazines to its growing 
Black South African 
Magazines<https://africacommons.net/modules/black-south-african-magazines/> 
collection.  In addition to DRUM, the database now includes full runs of Grace, 
The Townships Housewife, and Hi-Note!


  *   Grace and Townships (1964-1969) were the first South African women's 
magazines written by and for Black women. Published during apartheid, the 
magazines represented black African women in a positive light-educated, 
beautiful, and modern.
  *   Hi-Note! (1954-1957) was a pictorial entertainment magazine aimed mainly 
at multiracial and Indian readers and focused on sports, music, and "star" 
personalities, and also contained pulp fiction-mainly romantic/suspense 
sagas-and selected, serialized "classics."

Digitized for the first time, students and faculty will discover materials that 
have almost never been seen outside Africa. Developed in partnership with South 
African based Sabinet, all magazine content is being sourced from African 
libraries and digitized in Africa. By completion, the collection will reach 
50,000 pages. Learn more about this collection with this quick 2-minute 
video.<https://youtu.be/eDa4GP6Bemg>


  *   We are pleased to let you know that the beta version of Southern African 
Films and 
Documentaries<https://africacommons.net/modules/southern-african-films-and-documentaries/>
 is now live.  We encourage libraries, faculty, and students to start using 
this collection immediately!  Currently the collection includes 115 films from 
the early 20th century to the present and will grow to over 200 films by the 
end of this calendar year.  If this is the first time you're hearing about the 
project, we encourage you to watch a brief trailer which showcases actually 
clips and footage from the collection!<https://youtu.be/arOP8DVcrqo>



We've transcribed the films and made them searchable both from the general 
search interface and within a specific title page. The transcript and video 
appear side by side, synchronized; the end user can jump to a specific place in 
the video by clicking into the transcript, or click within the video and jump 
to that place in the transcript.



There are five film types included- Propaganda films, Newsreels, Documentaries, 
Feature films, and Interviews- which support a plethora of research agendas 
including but not limited to: Government; History and Culture' Health and 
Science; Women's Issues; Biography, and Apartheid.  Some sample film content 
can be found below:


  *   Bantu Education, 1955- This propaganda film favors the Bantu Education 
Act - which promoted apartheid and racially separate educational facilities for 
the Bantu-speaking people in South Africa.


  *   African Mirror Newsreels, 1900-1950's- African Mirror was the world's 
longest running commercial newsreel. A source of current affairs, information, 
and entertainment for moviegoers in South Africa. The newsreels were aimed at 
influencing the opinions and attitudes and the image of South Africa both 
within its own borders and in an international arena. Newsreels include the 
Rand Rebellion, WWII, mining industry efforts, the Soweto uprising, and the 
Rhodesian civil war.


  *   Black Beulahs, 2000- A revealing personal portrait of the lives of three 
gay men in Soweto, a society intolerant of homosexuality.


  *   Winnie Mandela, Under Apartheid, 1986- Winnie recounts her life up to 
that point, including her husband's imprisonment.


  *   Generations of Resistance, 1980- The story of Black African resistance 
has been suppressed and distorted by white-controlled history books. This 
documentary attempts to give back to Black South Africans their lost history-a 
history of heroic struggle.


  *   African Jim , 1949- South Africa's first feature film aimed largely at a 
black audience. The film was a sensation for black audiences, who had never 
before seen their own heroes on screen. Its value as a historical document is 
important, as it shows images from the past that reflect a vibrant township 
culture that was soon to be destroyed by apartheid.


  *   Interview with Oliver Tambo, 1984- Oliver Tambo was a South African 
anti-apartheid politician and revolutionary who served as President of the 
African National Congress from 1967 to 1991. In this interview from 1984, Tambo 
discusses the ANC and his relationship with Nelson Mandela.

Finally, John, I am including username and password credentials so that members 
can log on and look at the collections at any time.  And if they prefer an IP 
trial, we can do that too.  A bibliography of all three modules is updated and 
hereto attached.  Please do share!  In the interim, here you go:

https://africacommons.net/

Username: demo [at] coherentdigital.net<mailto:demo [at] coherentdigital.net>

May Password: Young-Dew
June Password: Old-Glitter

Thank you, sir!
Lenny


Lenny Rogers
Senior Director, University Partnerships & Sales
Mobile: (720) 835-9190
Email: lennyrogers [at] coherentdigital.com<mailto:lennyrogers [at] 
coherentdigital.com>

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