This proposal envisages a project in which a full-time researcher with specialised
knowledge of computer software is appointed within the Research Institute for Theology and
Religion for the period of at least one year to develop the Missionalia abstracts project
in the following ways:
1) To convert the abstracts of all back copies of Missionalia (Volumes 1-22) into an
appropriate format so that it can be made available on CD-ROM, either through the 20:21
project of GMI International or through ATLA Religion Index One (or through both);
2) To design a process of producing current Missionalia abstracts so that they can be
converted into CD-ROM format on an ongoing basis;
3) To draw up a practical training programme for new abstractors, to ensure continuity
and quality;
4) To explore the possibility of creating a network of abstractors across Africa, with
a group of participating institutions producing the abstracts of certain specific
journals;
5) To explore the possibility of creating an electronic journal of African theological
institutions, by means of which otherwise unpublished material can be shared across the
continent.
1. MISSIONALIA BACK COPIES
The rapid development of information technology provides an excellent opportunity to
make the Missionalia abstracts, which constitute the uniqe-ness of this journal as a
research tool, available on CD-ROM. This also creates the opportunity for the Missionalia
editorial committee to put some money back into the Research Institute for Theology and
Religion, by asking royalties for the inclusion of this information in an existing CD-ROM
project (see below). The RITR has carried the abstracting project for the past 22 years
without receiving any financial reward for this.
At the moment the abstracts are difficult to search, so this move will mean the
unlocking of the full potential of this project, which was executed with such dedication
for the past 22 years. There are two exist-ing international database projects that should
be considered in this regard: the ATLA Religion Index One, based in Chicago and the GMI
20:21" project, based in Colorado Springs. It is possible to enter into a
non-exclusive agreement with both these projects, so it is not necessary to choose between
them. The advantages and disadvantages of each need to be carefully examined, which will
be a time-consuming exercise. It is also necessary to negotiate the amounts of royalties
we want to charge for our material, to make sure that we get our fair share, without
pricing our-selves out of the market.
The abstracts of many of these 22 volumes have already been typed onto theaskSam
database, but it is not yet in an accessible format so that it can
be transferred to CD-ROM. It is necessary to appoint someone with the appropriate skill
and experience in computer software to make this project viable.
2. THE ONGOING PRODUCTION OF ABSTRACTS
In addition to the work on back copies, it is also essential to design a process by
means of which the abstracts currently being produced can be directly converted to CD-ROM
format, so that an annual update can be made available. This may not be a complex
procedure, but the present abstrac-tors need to be trained to us it efficiently and to
pass on this skill to new generations of abstractors. The person to be appointed should
there-fore have specialised knowledge of computer software, so as to design the most
user-friendly system.
3. TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR ABSTRACTORS
It has become clear over the years that it is important to supply training in the art
of abstracting for the new people employed in the project from time to time. It is
probably advisable to draw up a short training manual (or workbook) with self-evaluation
exercises which can be handed out to prospective abstractors. If there are a few people
interested in a vacancy one could even use this as an appropriate preparation for an
aptitude test before deciding whom to employ. The person who could best design such a
training programme will need not only skills in the use of computer soft-ware but also in
the economic and clear use of the English language. This training manual will become even
more crucial if the suggestion mentioned in point 4 below becomes a reality.
4. AN AFRICA-WIDE NETWORK OF ABSTRACTORS
Due to inevitable financial cutbacks to the Missionalia project in the RITR, it is
essential to find alternative sources of funding to restore the project to its former
scope, otherwise the breadth and quality of the abstracts published in the journal will
suffer. That will not only limit the usefulness of the journal but also probably lead to a
decline in sub-scriptions, as people see less and less abstracts that are directly
relevant to their own research concerns. One way to attempt to find new funding is to
emphasise the empowering effect of abstracting on the young researchers who have been
employed over the years and then to ask the African Theological Initative (=ATI) in Côte
dIvoire (or an overseas funder) to support the appointment of a network of young
missiological researchers across the continent as Missionalia abstractors. Certain
jour-nals can then be entrusted to specific seminaries or university depart-ments, so that
the breadth of the abstracting venture will not suffer. This will be a daunting project to
launch and sustain, and it therefore demands a skilful negotiator and trainer to get it
off the ground. There will be multiple benefits of such a project, however, since it will
not only stimulate the discipline of missiology across Africa, but also create a network
of pan-African cooperation between a number of theological institutions. If it does
materialise, it will make the training manual for abstractors (see point 3) so much more
important.
5. AN ELECTRONIC THEOLOGY JOURNAL FOR AFRICA As an additional spin-off of theological
networking across the continent, the person appointed in the missiology project of the
RITR could also give attention to the creation of an electronic journal which would
publish an annual CD-ROM containing otherwise unpublished theological documents from
various African countries. Material that come to mind are Masters and Doc-toral theses
accepted at African universities that will never be pub-lished; papers or reports read at
church assemblies or theological confer-ences that do not get published; articles
appearing in theological jour-nals with limited circulation; etc. All participating
institutions pay a nominal annual fee for the right to submit documents (in diskette
format) and then receive an annual CD-ROM with all the material from the continent free of
charge. Institutions in Europe or the USA will then be charged substantial amounts to help
fund the process. The establishment of such an electronic journal will require not only
computer skills (for the transfer of material from various formats onto a uniform
programme) but also nego-tiating and networking skills to get more institutions to
participate.
This last point is a project which is not necessarily linked to the other four, but it
is closely related. If someone is appointed to take care of the first four, it may indeed
be worth while asking him/her to pursue this last point as well.
Klippies Kritzinger, Department of Missiology, University of South Africa. kritzjnj@alpha.unisa.ac.za
This proposal envisages a project in which a full-time researcher with specialised
knowledge of computer software is appointed within the Research Institute for Theology and
Religion for the period of at least one year to develop the Missionalia abstracts project
in the following ways:
1) To convert the abstracts of all back copies of Missionalia (Volumes 1-22) into an
appropriate format so that it can be made available on CD-ROM, either through the 20:21
project of GMI International or through ATLA Religion Index One (or through both);
2) To design a process of producing current Missionalia abstracts so that they can be
converted into CD-ROM format on an ongoing basis;
3) To draw up a practical training programme for new abstractors, to ensure continuity
and quality;
4) To explore the possibility of creating a network of abstractors across Africa, with
a group of participating institutions producing the abstracts of certain specific
journals;
5) To explore the possibility of creating an electronic journal of African theological
institutions, by means of which otherwise unpublished material can be shared across the
continent.
1. MISSIONALIA BACK COPIES
The rapid development of information technology provides an excellent opportunity to
make the Missionalia abstracts, which constitute the uniqe-ness of this journal as a
research tool, available on CD-ROM. This also creates the opportunity for the Missionalia
editorial committee to put some money back into the Research Institute for Theology and
Religion, by asking royalties for the inclusion of this information in an existing CD-ROM
project (see below). The RITR has carried the abstracting project for the past 22 years
without receiving any financial reward for this.
At the moment the abstracts are difficult to search, so this move will mean the
unlocking of the full potential of this project, which was executed with such dedication
for the past 22 years. There are two exist-ing international database projects that should
be considered in this regard: the ATLA Religion Index One, based in Chicago and the GMI
20:21" project, based in Colorado Springs. It is possible to enter into a
non-exclusive agreement with both these projects, so it is not necessary to choose between
them. The advantages and disadvantages of each need to be carefully examined, which will
be a time-consuming exercise. It is also necessary to negotiate the amounts of royalties
we want to charge for our material, to make sure that we get our fair share, without
pricing our-selves out of the market.
The abstracts of many of these 22 volumes have already been typed onto theaskSam
database, but it is not yet in an accessible format so that it can
be transferred to CD-ROM. It is necessary to appoint someone with the appropriate skill
and experience in computer software to make this project viable.
2. THE ONGOING PRODUCTION OF ABSTRACTS
In addition to the work on back copies, it is also essential to design a process by
means of which the abstracts currently being produced can be directly converted to CD-ROM
format, so that an annual update can be made available. This may not be a complex
procedure, but the present abstrac-tors need to be trained to us it efficiently and to
pass on this skill to new generations of abstractors. The person to be appointed should
there-fore have specialised knowledge of computer software, so as to design the most
user-friendly system.
3. TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR ABSTRACTORS
It has become clear over the years that it is important to supply training in the art
of abstracting for the new people employed in the project from time to time. It is
probably advisable to draw up a short training manual (or workbook) with self-evaluation
exercises which can be handed out to prospective abstractors. If there are a few people
interested in a vacancy one could even use this as an appropriate preparation for an
aptitude test before deciding whom to employ. The person who could best design such a
training programme will need not only skills in the use of computer soft-ware but also in
the economic and clear use of the English language. This training manual will become even
more crucial if the suggestion mentioned in point 4 below becomes a reality.
4. AN AFRICA-WIDE NETWORK OF ABSTRACTORS
Due to inevitable financial cutbacks to the Missionalia project in the RITR, it is
essential to find alternative sources of funding to restore the project to its former
scope, otherwise the breadth and quality of the abstracts published in the journal will
suffer. That will not only limit the usefulness of the journal but also probably lead to a
decline in sub-scriptions, as people see less and less abstracts that are directly
relevant to their own research concerns. One way to attempt to find new funding is to
emphasise the empowering effect of abstracting on the young researchers who have been
employed over the years and then to ask the African Theological Initative (=ATI) in Côte
dIvoire (or an overseas funder) to support the appointment of a network of young
missiological researchers across the continent as Missionalia abstractors. Certain
jour-nals can then be entrusted to specific seminaries or university depart-ments, so that
the breadth of the abstracting venture will not suffer. This will be a daunting project to
launch and sustain, and it therefore demands a skilful negotiator and trainer to get it
off the ground. There will be multiple benefits of such a project, however, since it will
not only stimulate the discipline of missiology across Africa, but also create a network
of pan-African cooperation between a number of theological institutions. If it does
materialise, it will make the training manual for abstractors (see point 3) so much more
important.
5. AN ELECTRONIC THEOLOGY JOURNAL FOR AFRICA As an additional spin-off of theological
networking across the continent, the person appointed in the missiology project of the
RITR could also give attention to the creation of an electronic journal which would
publish an annual CD-ROM containing otherwise unpublished theological documents from
various African countries. Material that come to mind are Masters and Doc-toral theses
accepted at African universities that will never be pub-lished; papers or reports read at
church assemblies or theological confer-ences that do not get published; articles
appearing in theological jour-nals with limited circulation; etc. All participating
institutions pay a nominal annual fee for the right to submit documents (in diskette
format) and then receive an annual CD-ROM with all the material from the continent free of
charge. Institutions in Europe or the USA will then be charged substantial amounts to help
fund the process. The establishment of such an electronic journal will require not only
computer skills (for the transfer of material from various formats onto a uniform
programme) but also nego-tiating and networking skills to get more institutions to
participate.
This last point is a project which is not necessarily linked to the other four, but it
is closely related. If someone is appointed to take care of the first four, it may indeed
be worth while asking him/her to pursue this last point as well.
Klippies Kritzinger, Department of Missiology, University of South Africa. kritzjnj@alpha.unisa.ac.za
