User:OlwynGail/sandbox

DRISA (Digital Railway Images of South Africa) is a volunteer project to create an online archive on the AToM platform. It comprises a catalogue of the photographic collection held by the Transnet Heritage Library (THL) with a description and thumbnail image of each photograph. The descriptions conform with International Council on Archives standards and with AtoM practices.

The Transnet Heritage Library (THL) in Johannesburg, South Africa, is the custodian of a collection of more than 250,000 images collected over more than a century. As far back as 2012, a small group of retired engineers identified the collection as a compelling candidate for digitisation. In October 2014 a workshop was convened with a small group of potentially interested parties to gauge support for a project to digitise and catalogue the THL image collection and to map the way forward. When formally approached, Transnet Freight Rail, the unit responsible for the THL, requested a formal Memorandum of Understanding with a reputable institution before officially sanctioning a digitizing project. The South African institute for Civil Engineer (SAICE), the voice of roughly 10,000 civil engineering professionals, also having a Railway Division as well as a History and Heritage Group, was seen to be such a reputable partner. A draft Memorandum of Understanding was prepared with the help of SAICE and submitted to Transnet during June 2015. )

A final MOU between SAICE and Transnet Freight Rail was signed in June 2016. From the outset the project was intended to be a volunteer programme, so the MOU granted access to the THL by the interns and the volunteers subject to conditions to indemnify Transnet against injury or other claims. From November 2014 regular newsletters were circulated to interested parties and in February 2016 the first two interns were appointed.

DRISA comprises two outputs, the image collection and the South African Railways & Harbours (SAR&H) Magazine collection. The DRISA image collection resides on the AtoM platform. Access is also provided on the DRISA website.

Digitisation of the SAR&H Magazine started with the earliest issue and it progresses chronologically. Digitised material is published in blocks of five years and by December 2019 magazines 1905 to 1945 had been digitised and published. . Access to the SAR&H Magazines is provided on the DRISA website.