Page 19 - Professorial Lecture - Prof Nengomasha

technology has blurred the lines between the different disciplines in the
information science profession, “The trajectory of information provision and
access on the networked environment led to changes in professional practices,
facilitating working together across traditional boundaries despite differences in
professional traits and culture”.

6. Research

The ARMA International Educational Foundation (n.d.), advocates for practical,
timely research projects that involve partnerships among individual information
management professionals which comprise records centres, archives, libraries
and other information centres; professional associations; and research institutions
such as universities. This supports Dearstyne’s (1999) suggestion that professional
associations can use case studies, model practices, and research/development
projects and their results as a means of conveying to their members strategies
and approaches for dealing with a continuously changing, unpredictable
environment calling for rapid development and application of practical solutions.

Several studies cited in this paper and others not cited have focused mostly on
the public service of Namibia hence there is a paucity of literature on records
management in Namibia’s private sector. Most technological developments
start with the private sector. The private sector provides the public service with
technology for records management hence it is pertinent to get an understanding
of how it views records management by investigating its understanding of
records management and awareness and application of standards as well as
compliance with the legal and regulatory framework. Also lacking is collaborative
research between academics and the professional associations, so that they
can present findings as a united front to relevant authorities to drive change.

7. Professional Associations as Leaders of Change

Katuu (2022) acknowledges the intellectual support a professional association can
give to its members through continuing education programmes, however painting
a bleak picture of records management associations in Africa. He acknowledges
the Kenya Association of Records Managers and Archivists and the South Africa
Society of Archivists as visible and the rest as not being consistent in their activities. A
shortcoming he mentions even with the active ones is failure to engage in research
as is done by associations in other parts of the world (Katuu, 2022). In Namibia,

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