Challenges of digitizing the endangered Lesotho royal archives

Abstract

The article gives an account of the efforts being made by the royal family and the Matsieng Board of Trustees to safeguard and preserve royal archives and what has been achieved so far, and the challenges and prospects towards the digitization of these records as a means of preserving them. Among the root causes of the problem is poor management of records in Lesotho which has affected the development of archival services as a whole. The National Archives was established in 1957 during the colonial period under the office of the Government Secretary, but the archives service as a whole is still at the rudimentary stage. For a long time the National Archives did not have accommodation and was operating with limited resources. The outdated legislation, the Archives Act of 1967, also contributes to the problems of archival development in the country, making the climate for archives sector gloomy.