Starting during the colonial period, the process of discovering, assessing, and describing Arabic manuscript collections scattered across West Africa helped debunk the myth of a continent steeped in oral tradition and ritual. This, in turn, paved the way for a growing number of initiatives from the 1960s onwards, particularly in manuscript-rich areas in Mali, Mauritania, and northern Nigeria. Mainly focused on bibliographic description, content analysis, and preservation, these initiatives employed storage and reformatting technologies (microfilm and digitization), database management systems, and the Internet, to develop computerized catalogs and finding aids, create surrogate copies of selected manuscripts, and eventually make these resources available online, thus ensuring or expanding access to a wealth of previously unknown resources for the study of African history and culture. Considering the harsh environment, the problematic nature of the materials and their storage conditions, and the limited human, technological, and financial resources involved, it is remarkable how some of these projects managed to survey large swaths of the West African manuscript landscape, often making the results of their work permanently available. At the same time, a review of their accomplishments and shortcomings will help understand how many such initiatives failed to meet the expectations of their intended and potential users. Only by understanding these evolving trends and realities, and engaging information professionals with the appropriate knowledge and skills, will new initiatives to preserve and document West African manuscripts succeed in providing access to both intellectual content and material culture, rather than simply generating new digital dust.

中文翻译：

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在窘境与浪费之间：对西非阿拉伯手稿保存的简短而有偏见的调查：学科现状

从殖民时期开始，发现、评估和描述分散在西非的阿拉伯手稿收藏的过程帮助揭穿了一个充满口头传统和仪式的大陆神话。这反过来又为 1960 年代以来越来越多的倡议铺平了道路，特别是在马里、毛里塔尼亚和尼日利亚北部手稿丰富的地区。这些举措主要侧重于书目描述、内容分析和保存，采用存储和重新格式化技术（缩微胶卷和数字化）、数据库管理系统和互联网，开发计算机化目录和查找辅助工具，创建选定手稿的替代副本，并最终在线提供这些资源，从而确保或扩大获取大量以前未知的资源以研究非洲历史和文化的机会。考虑到恶劣的环境、材料的问题性质及其储存条件，以及所涉及的人力、技术和财政资源有限，其中一些项目设法调查了大片西非手稿景观，往往使他们的工作成果永久可用。同时，回顾他们的成就和不足将有助于了解有多少此类举措未能满足其预期和潜在用户的期望。只有了解这些不断变化的趋势和现实，并让具备适当知识和技能的信息专业人员参与进来，