Nkem Osuigwe PhD, Human Capacity Development & Training (Director), AfLIA
Nkem has served as the Head of the public library system in Anambra State Nigeria (2009 -2015), a Director of Nigerian Book Foundation(2016-2018)where she currently sits as a member, Board of Trustees. Presently, she works with AfLIA(African Library and Information Associations and Institutions) with headquarters in Accra, Ghana as the Director, Human Capacity and Training.
She has been the project lead for AfLIA’s projects with OER Africa, NBA South Africa, Book Aid International and Wikimedia Foundation. In 2022, she won the global award of the Wikimedian of the Year 2022, (Newcomer category). She had won the Dr. Victori aOkojie award on Advocacy and promotion of Library services in 2015. She won the Wikimedia User Group Torchbearer Award in 2023. She had championed and drove a book donation to Langata Women Prison, Library, Kenya in 2019 and to Warri Prison library also in 2019. She is an alumnus of WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) and serves in the UNESCO/IGF OER Dynamic Advisory Group.
Session
The Authority Control template is used to link content in Wikipedia to libraries and databases as a pathway for disambiguation and ensuring consistency. However, it was observed that this template links Wikipedia content about Africa and Africans to libraries and databases outside of the continent. This was due to the lack of Authority File Control systems within the African library sector. Through the Knowledge Equity Fund, the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA), with membership in 34 African countries addressed that gap by creating the National Library of Nigeria Semantic Name Authority Repository (NLN SNAR). AfLIA is also using NLN SNAR as a model for developing semantic Authority files on Wikibase for other National libraries within the continent. This is considered as a major step towards instituting a robust Authority control for Africa’s library sector as the same relationships, entities and data models would be used as Wikibase answers the question of centralization or decentralization of data.