Development Of Institutional Repositories Research Articles

Challenges and Opportunities of Implementing Open Access Policies

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the challenges and opportunities of implementing open access policies in African universities.
 Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries.
 Findings: The implementation of open access policies in African universities faces significant challenges due to limited infrastructure, funding constraints, and inadequate institutional support. However, these challenges also present opportunities for collaboration, capacity building, and leveraging existing networks to enhance access to scholarly research. By overcoming these barriers through strategic partnerships and targeted investments, African universities can foster greater knowledge dissemination, innovation, and socio-economic development across the continent.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Institutional theory, diffusion of innovation theory& resource dependency theory may be used to anchor future studies on the challenges and opportunities of implementing open access policies in African universities. Implementing open access policies in African universities encourages innovation in knowledge management practices, including the development of institutional repositories, metadata standards, and digital preservation strategies. African universities' implementation of open access policies can influence national and regional policy frameworks related to scholarly communication, research funding, and copyright reform.

Mapping open science at Spanish universities. Analysis of higher education systems

This study analyzes the implementation of open science in Spanish universities considering four perspectives: (i) regulations, policies, and strategies; (ii) knowledge production; (iii) research results; and (iv) perception by different academic actors. A qualitative and quantitative methodology is applied, drawing information from university websites, institutional reports, European project databases (Cordis), the Web of Science database, surveys of teaching and research staff, and surveys of vice-rectors and library directors. The information is grouped into regional university systems, according to the autonomous community to which each university belongs, and is analyzed on that basis. The results of the quantitative study show increasing interest in open-science activities, expressed as a growing number of publications, and an increase in participation, leadership, and funding in European projects. Institutional policies and regulations on open science, on the other hand, are few and focus almost exclusively on open access. The development of institutional repositories is one of the great achievements of the Spanish university system, and open-access publishing (mainly green open access) has grown considerably in the last decade. Teaching and research staff are not knowledgeable about open science, although in general they take a positive view toward it, while university policymakers report that most actions to promote open science are still in the process of being implemented. The results reveal heterogeneity among the various institutions’ practices and implementation. As a regional system, the Catalonian university system stands out above the rest for its degree of open-science policy development and implementation and for its intense research activity in the field of open science.

Re-Engineering of Library in Digital Environment: Issues and Trends

Technology facilitates seamless access and distribution of information across borders. As information changes, the way it is created, stored, accessed, edited, and searched changes in the library environment. We are in the electronic information age where technological advances are reshaping the global information industry. Libraries are changing due to factors such as user numbers, technology improvements, digital libraries, and new planning and management approaches. This article explores the transformation of libraries, including library-publisher relationships, word-of-mouth (WOM) and electronic marketing media, institutional repository development, connecting with entertainment media, open educational sources, more commercial document delivery, and remote. I will try to enumerate various trends. access, e-books and more. The success of libraries increasingly depends on restructuring through the most effective and strategic management of new technologies.

An evaluation of institutional repository development in African universities

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the development of institutional repositories in university libraries in Africa. An online questionnaire and institutional repository site investigation methods were used to collect data from 134 university libraries in English-speaking countries in Africa. The study finds that there is an increasing wave of development of institutional repositories in English-speaking countries in Africa. The majority of the institutional repositories contain high numbers of theses and dissertations, followed by journal articles and conference and workshop papers. The challenges that are identified include inadequate facilities, unstable Internet connectivity, a lack of funds, an irregular power supply, collecting material for institutional repositories, a lack of skilled information and communications technology personnel, copyright issues and an absence of institutional repository policies. The results from the study provide important data and insight into the development of institutional repositories in university libraries in the context of developing countries, and offer suggestions for university librarians and management teams.

Institutional Repositories in Russia and Abroad: Review of Publications

In contemporary information space, repository formation is one of the urgent tasks of libraries of scientific and educational institutions. Institutional repositories (IRs) provide unhindered access to scholarly works posted by scientists and specialists for general user, increasing the demand for the library's information resources.The article represents the review of foreign and domestic publications on the formation and development of institutional repositories. The authors consider the advantages of forming Open Access (OA) Repositories both among prospective authors and potential users: archiving and keeping materials in the IR up-to-date, ensuring visibility and possibility of using scientific research through global access, rapid dissemination of research results, increasing the citation of submitted materials, growth of prestige of the organization, the development of scientific communication, etc. The authors found out that placing publications in international archives (arXiv, BioXiv, etc.) or corporate projects (BASE, HathiTrust) has a greater impact on the visibility and potential citation of publications.The article identifies the problems of formation and use of repositories: labour intensity of content placement process, the complexity of data exchange, copyright management, the lack of incentives in providing information about their scientific work, the need for additional time and labour resources when maintaining the IR, the financial costs of maintaining the repository, and the difficulties of search in the IR. The authors note that the IR functionality depends on the software capabilities. The paper gives the examples of new generation repositories and presents their features: self-filling, automatic classification based on text mining and machine learning, data management processes between different systems, easy-to-use interfaces.

Corrigendum for content recruiting: Obstacle to institutional repository development in university libraries in Nigeria and South Africa

Corrigendum for content recruiting: Obstacle to institutional repository development in university libraries in Nigeria and South Africa

Institutional repository in Kenneth Dike Library, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

There is a glaring divide between institutional literature and the user community. Institutional Repository (IR) deals with bridging the gap between institutions’ ever growing educational and research output, and the users of the materials for teaching/learning, research, decision making and societal advancement. According to literature, the pace of adoption of IR has been slow and quit uneven especially in the developing world with very few universities adopting IR in Nigeria. In the light of the innumerable benefits of institutional repository, Kenneth Dike Library has joined university libraries all over the world in the adoption of institutional repository. The paper examined the institutional repository of Kenneth Dike Library, University of Ibadan (UI) which is a Premier university in Nigeria. The study adopted survey method. Interview instrument was used for the study. The basic information about UI institutional repository development and management procedures were obtained through a face-to-face interview with some of the library’s systems staff that are knowledgeable on the university’s IR. The study identified the procedural activities in the IR development at Kenneth Dike Library (KDL), which include strategic planning of the project by UI library management, seeking for and obtaining the university management’s approval, the adoption of in-house approach to digitization and management of IRs, and the continual digitization processes. Finally the study indicated some problems and solutions in the management of University of Ibadan IR project which could be of help to those institutions that are yet to establish IRs.

Content recruiting: Obstacle to institutional repository development in university libraries in Nigeria and South Africa

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to bring to light the obstacles to collecting contents from faculty members in universities in Nigeria and South Africa. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted a survey research design. OpenDOAR database search, online questionnaire, and IRs investigation methods were used to collect data from 41 institutional repositories in universities in Nigeria and South Africa. Findings: The study found that the most popular content submitted to IRs in Nigeria and South Africa are electronic theses and dissertations, journal articles, special items (Africana collections, images, artifacts, paintings), conference and workshop papers, and research and technical reports. The comparison of institutional repository development between the two countries revealed that, South Africa is far ahead of Nigeria in terms of institutional repository development using contents emanating from the universities. South Africa is a leading African country in terms of Open Access (OA) policies and South Africa embraced open access movement earlier than Nigeria. The study identified some factors such as: lack of awareness of the existence of institutional repositories by faculty members; lack of mandatory self-archiving policy by institutions or funding bodies; considering copyright and intellectual property issues; some faculty members are skeptical on the principle of open access; some faculty members are not interested in IR; some faculty members believe it is too risky to submit their research work to IR; lack of technical skills for some faculty members to self-archive as obstacles which are peculiar to collecting contents from various contributors in both counties. Research Implication: The findings will inform University Librarians, University management and policy makers on possible ways to overcome the obstacles to recruiting content to IRs. Originality/value: The study reported on the obstacles of recruiting content from faculty members in universities in Nigeria and South Africa and the findings will inform stakeholders by designing strategies to overcome such obstacles and populate the IRs with different contents.

Open source software adoption for development of institutional repositories in university libraries of Islamabad

PurposeThis study aims to explore the present status of open-source institutional repository (IR) software’s usage in the university libraries of Islamabad. This study also investigates the views, satisfaction level and challenges of librarians in the adoption and use of IR software.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted to collect data from the Library Information Science (LIS) professionals working in the university libraries of Islamabad. Data were collected from all library professionals of the Islamabad university libraries by using a structured questionnaire. Out of the total 104 LIS professionals, 84 participated in the study with a response ratio of 80.76%.FindingsThe findings disclose that out of 23 universities recognized by Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Islamabad, 17 (public and private) have developed IRs. Currently, university libraries that have fully implemented the IRs are less as compared with those universities that have partially implemented IR software. However, a good number of university libraries are in the process to develop IRs. Free and open-source software is being used mostly in libraries as compared with in-house developed, locally developed or commercial software. The opinion of librarians about using IR software expressed a positive attitude of librarians. Some of the major challenges encountered by the librarians in using open-source IR software include selection of suitable software and materials for digitization, lack of cooperation from the parent organization, inadequate training opportunities and lack of skilled staff.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is geographically limited to the university libraries in Islamabad.Practical implicationsThis study will encourage the Pakistani LIS professionals to use open-source software for the development of IRs in their libraries.Originality/valueThis study concludes that the development of IRs in university libraries is a need of the hour. Although the launching of IRs requires certain skills and competencies, Pakistani librarians can overcome these challenges by mastering the ICT skills.

Development of institutional repositories in academic and research libraries in Nigeria

PurposeThe development of an institutional repository for academic and research libraries makes possible the visibility of localized scholarly contents on web platform and also provide open access to restricted resources. This paper aims to explore the relevance of developing institutional repositories for open and unrestricted access to confined resources, and discusses academic and research libraries roles in developing institutional repositories; the types of software to be used for the development; and the hardware requirements for server setup and copyright issues. With more establishment of institutional repositories, access to localized information domiciled in the remote institutions can be easily accessed by visiting the institutional library online to retrieve the material.Design/methodology/approachTo provide a thorough breakdown of the building of institutional repositories in the University of Ilorin, Library, webliography sources were consulted.FindingsIt has been established by the OpenDOAR which is the quality-assured, global Directory of Open Access Repositories that only 30 repositories have been created by some academic and research libraries in Nigeria. There is a need for more academic and research libraries in Nigeria to key into the initiative of developing online institutional repositories to give online visibility to their intellectual contents that have no copyright restrictions in meeting the researcher’s information needs.Originality/valueThis study revealed a thorough approach and various steps that should be followed in developing institutional repositories for academic and research libraries.

The extent of building and managing local contents in institutional repositories: a survey of tertiary institution libraries in Nigeria

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the development of institutional repositories (IR) in tertiary institution libraries in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a survey research method. Online questionnaire and IR site investigation methods were used to collect data from 25 university libraries in Nigeria.FindingsThe study revealed that only 25 (14.7%) universities out of the 170 universities in Nigeria have successfully developed IRs and registered their presence in OpenDOAR. Other tertiary institutions such as Polytechnics and Colleges of Education investigated in Nigeria are yet to develop IRs. Contents such as theses and dissertations, conference proceedings and journal articles ranked highest being the most popular contents in the various IRs. The results showed that the development of IR saves space in the library, increases readership, increases access to local contents, minimizes damage to the original material, facilitates the dissemination of scholarly research and assists in globalization of Nigerian research findings. The IRs site investigation revealed that only few IRs have clearly defined access policy, content policy, submission policy and digital preservation policy. The study identified challenges such as inadequate facilities, unstable internet connectivity, lack of fund, irregular power supply, challenge of collecting materials for the IR, lack of skilled ICT personnel, copyright issues and absence of IR policies.Practical implicationsThe results from the study will provide important data and insight into the development of institutional repositories in tertiary institution libraries in Nigeria, and generate suggestions for University Librarians, College Librarians, Polytechnic Librarians, tertiary institutions management and policy makers for developing institutional repositories in Nigeria and other developing countries.Originality/valueThe study investigated IR development in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The findings will inform other tertiary institutions in developing countries that the development of IR provides an opportunity for the visibility of local contents emanating from institutions and make them see the reason to embrace this laudable development.

The development of institutional repositories in East Africa countries: A comparative analysis of Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda

This paper aims to examine the growth of IR in the East Africa region (Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda) from 2010-2020. This study adopted a content analysis methodology. Data for this study was extracted from OpenDOAR (Directory of Open Access Repository), ROAR (Registry of Open Access Repository) and repositories websites to identify the language used, subject covered, software used and types of content that are found in East African repositories. The findings of this study reveal that East Africa region had a total number of 66 repositories, which are registered in OpenDOAR. Kenya is a leading country in the region by having 42 repositories, followed by Tanzania with 14 repositories and Uganda have 10 repositories. The findings show that there is an increase number in the of repositories in the region from 4 in 2010 to 66 in 2020, however the growth is low compared to other parts of the world like Europe, Asia, and America. The study shows the need of librarians, researchers, stakeholders, and East Africa governments to come together to overcome the challenges that hinder the growth of repositories in the region. Mandate policies formulation, training, fund support, OA awareness and technical support are needed in overcoming those challenges. Keywords: Institutional Repository, Open Access, Content growth, Institutional Repository software, Items types, Institutional Repository language, and subject covered in repository, East Africa region.

Guest editors' notes

This special issue has nine papers selected from the Africa Regional Workshop at Makerere University (Kampala, Uganda) on January 11th to 13th 2021. The first two papers relate to Research Data Management (RDM). The first one analyses the authorship, volume, visibility, and quality of publications on RDM in Sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis was done using bibliometrics focusing on RDM publications from, and on, Sub-Saharan Africa which are currently indexed in Google Scholar. The second article presents available open RDM resources for different data practitioners, particularly researchers and librarians at the University of Dodoma, in Tanzania. Some of the RDM resources discussed in this paper are Data Management Plan (DMP) and a data repository available for researchers to freely archive and share their research data with the local and international communities. The third paper highlights the data-sharing attitudes and behaviors of African data curators and data management experts. The paper compares data from an earlier study and analyses the new findings between the data sharing attitudes and behaviors between Africans and non-Africans. The fourth paper articulates the data literacy integration agenda and how it can catalyze the achievement of Sustainable development goals. The paper unpacks the role of data literacy in catalyzing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), challenges faced, and suggests recommendations to the challenges. It is however sad to note here that the author of this paper recently passed on 15th December 2021. May the good lord accord Gorreti an eternal rest. The fifth paper discourses the establishment of a data center at Mzuzu University Library in Malawi after the unfortunate fire outbreak of 2015 that destroyed the whole library. Interesting models are drawn in the paper like; the six-month process of restoring an interim library and the designing & construction of the new library in collaboration with the Virginia Technological School of Architecture & Design in the United States. The sixth paper goes further to examine the growth and development of institutional repositories in the East African Countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The paper contextualizes and discusses in detail the drivers and barriers to the development of institutional repositories in East Africa such as: policy formulation, financial support, training, infrastructure, open access awareness among others. The seventh paper focuses on the learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy in Uganda in the light of maternal education. In this paper, deeper analysis was conducted on the data mined from the Uwezo assessment data to show the effect of the mothers’ education on the numeracy and literacy learning outcomes among children in Uganda. The eighth paper illuminates the opportunities and risks of sharing agricultural research data in Tanzania. Stimulating themes on sharing of research data are developed and discussed in this paper such as: research collaboration, transparency, accuracy, funding, policy, institutional, and government support among others. Finally, the ninth and last paper narrates the data dissemination process at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). The paper presents in detail the methods, channels of data sharing such as: workshops, websites, libraries, resource centres, social media, and the physical delivery of print resources to the UBOS partners and clients. Winny Nekesa Akullo and Robert Stalone Buwule

Institutional repositories (IRs) in universities of Pakistan: Issues and emergent framework for remedies

This paper assesses the issues affecting the development of institutional repositories (IRs) in Pakistan along with presentation of an emergent framework for the development of IRs. The contribution is based on a sequential mixed methods research approach. In first phase the study opted a cross sectional survey with a structured questionnaire followed by a focus group of university librarians in 2nd phase to collect qualitative data on the phenomenon. The study found that IRs was a developing phenomenon at an infancy and did not emerge as a mandatory component of campus infrastructure in universities of Pakistan. Issues of awareness, willingness, motivation, administrative support, skills, finances, and collaboration were identified as major challenges affecting the development of IRs. The study proposed a framework for the development of IRs. The findings of the study have theoretical implications for researchers and practical implications for higher education policy makers, publishers, university administrators, and library administrators. The study may be generalized to other countries with similar economic and social context.

Rejestracja dorobku naukowego w instytucjonalnych systemach repozytoryjnych polskich uniwersytetów

Cel/Teza: Artykuł przedstawia wyniki badań nad aktualnym stopniem rozwoju repozytoriów instytucjonalnych polskich uniwersytetów, w tym szczególnie nad stanem rejestracji dorobku naukowego i podstawami prawnymi regulującymi funkcjonowanie systemów repozytoryjnych. Celem badań było ustalenie poziomu otwartości polskich publikacji naukowych.Koncepcja/Metody badań: Autorka zbadała liczebność zasobów w różnych systemach rejestrujących dorobek naukowy pracowników uniwersytetów (repozytoriach, Archiwach Prac Dyplomowych (APD) oraz bibliografiach publikacji pracowników). Podstawą badań były informacje udostępnione na stronachinternetowych tych systemów oraz bibliotek i uczelni odpowiedzialnych za ich prowadzenie, a także innych instytucji i organizacji wspierających otwartą naukę w Polsce. Badania empiryczne autorka uzupełniła krytyczną analizą piśmiennictwa przedmiotu.Wyniki i wnioski: Dzięki zastosowanym metodom badawczym wykazano, że funkcjonujące obecnie systemy repozytoryjne polskich uniwersytetów spełniają swoje zadania w niewystarczającym stopniu, a proces ich rozwoju jest wolniejszy od oczekiwanego. Potwierdza to niewielka liczba rejestrowanych w nich publikacji i znikomy procent umocowań prawnych instytucjonalnej polityki otwartego dostępu.Zastosowanie praktyczne: Wnioski z badań mogą przyczynić się do poprawy stanu polskich repozytoriów instytucjonalnych. Mogą też posłużyć jako punkt wyjścia do dalszych badań systemów repozytoryjnych.Oryginalność/Wartość poznawcza: Podjęcie tematu stanu rejestracji dorobku naukowego w instytucjonalnych repozytoriach jest istotne z uwagi na aktualność zagadnienia otwierania dostępu do publikacji naukowych oraz w szerszym zakresie – otwierania nauki.

Optimalisasi Pemanfaatan Institusional Repository melalui Penerapan Upload Mandiri

Institutional Repository (IR) which contains local works of the academic community is an intellectual property owned by a tertiary institution. This intellectual work can be in the form of books, papers, scientific articles, research results, proceedings, theses, theses, dissertations and others produced by Lecturers, Librarians, Employees, and Students. Proper management and easy access must be a priority so that information dissemination and IR utilization can be optimized. One effort to optimize the use of IR is the existence of an independent upload program. With independent uploads, it is expected that IR collections will develop more dynamically in terms of quality and quantity because of the convenience of the visitors in publishing their thoughts. This simplicity is due to independent uploads not limited by space and time. Whenever and wherever, Pemustaka can upload independently easily because IR media is online. This study aims to find out what is meant by IR independent uploads, what are the menus and contents of metadata in eprint-based repositories, and the extent to which the effectiveness and efficiency of independent upload programs for intellectual works (Thesis, Thesis, Desertation, and scientific work) Civitas Academica of UIN Sunan Ampel in the development of Institutional Repositories.

KAZAKHSTAN DEVELOPS SMART CITIES: INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORIES AS BACKBONES OF DIGITAL KAZAKHSTAN

As a young and developing city, Astana and its people is preparing its way to become a smart city. A smart city “improves the quality of life for its citizens through technological means” (Guerra, 2017). Kourtit, Nijkamp, & Arribas (2012) define smart cities as highly productive cities as they perform to have highly educated people. Digital Kazakhstan is a state program which aims to augment the quality of life of the mankind by introducing and integrating digital technologies to the citizens’ daily life.As technologies play a vital role in improving the people’s lives, it has also an effect in the field of education. The educational sector will directly benefit from this technological trend as students, faculty, and researchers will have a faster and convenient way of getting relevant results through the available online tools available in public or academic libraries. The state prepares its nationals to be information and digital literate making its people highly competent and competitive (Digital Kazakhstan, 2018). This paper introduces the development of Institutional Repositories as possible technological component of a smart city. In Kazakhstan, the government is pushing towards providing better online access to its citizens. With this advent of smart city, how can libraries deliver and establish itself as a driving force in developing a smarter city? A smart city is inclusive and it requires effective services that a cultural center just like a library could provide. Libraries are great partners in informing and engaging its citizens through its programs and services (Mersand, Gasco-Hernandez, Gil-Garcia, Burke, Sutherland & Figueroa, 2018). Smart cities should have smart libraries which serve as a central hub for continuous learning and knowledge sharing. Smart libraries are governed by smart people that offersmart place and smartservices (Schopfel, 2018). Libraries are now seen as centers that could be an avenue for social participation and collaboration and a place where smart people can sharpen their critical thinking skills. Innovative programs, workshops, and trainings are often part of a library service to enhance learning. The government is also embarking on digital library projects being spearheaded by the National Academic Library. The aim of this paper is to introduce the development of Institutional Repositories as possible technological component of a smart city. With projects being developed, how sufficient in terms of open access information does the five largest cities of Kazakhstan have? State universities have their own institutional repository projects that may be a good inclusion to the smart city project. A survey of Astana university libraries and other four major cities was conducted to find out the number of existing Institutional Repositories that could possibly support the goal of the government to realize its full potential to be an innovative smart city. Furthermore, the paper will highlight challenges that each library is currently facing in building an institutional repository with a goal of improving the open access environment in Kazakhstan

The Potentials of Open Access Initiative and the Development of Institutional Repositories in Nigeria: Implications for Scholarly Communication

This study examined the state of open access institutional repositories in Nigeria. Expository review of literature was used to x-ray the state of the art, while descriptive informetrics was used to extract informetric data from two major repository directories (Registry of Open Access Repositories and Directory of Open Access Repositories). Findings revealed that Nigeria has twenty repositories from 14 out of about 153 universities in the country; majority of the repositories (70%) use DSpace as archiving software. The growth of repositories in the country has been slow, and the dominant contents of the repositories are journal articles, theses, and dissertations. While the study exposes the weaknesses of Nigeria universities in exploring the potentials of institutional repositories in wider dissemination their scientific productivity, it challenges government and other stakeholders to develop sustainable framework for development of repositories in the country.

New directions in health sciences libraries in China.

This article briefly describes the services provided by Chinese health science libraries and the factors which influence service provision. Driven by new technologies and national initiatives, the key services delivered by Chinese health libraries in the last 10years have been research support services (such as research impact assessment, support for data management), evidence-based medicine, systematic reviews, the promotion of health information literacy, and the development of institutional repositories. J.M.

Institutional Repositories In University Libraries In Nigeria And The Challenge Of Copyright

Copyright is a focal issue contending with the development of institutional repositories (IRs). Extant literature focused on the awareness, benefits and the various IR activities across the globe. This study investigated the issues of copyright in institutional repository in universities’ libraries in Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. A multistage sampling procedure was employed to sample 844 lecturers of the universities in Nigeria. Data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that plagiarism, piracy, counterfeiting, photocopying and lack of non workable policy guiding copyright matters and its implementations are among the copy right issues hindering the deployment and sustenance of institutional repositories in Nigeria. The study advocated for adequate legal framework and a workable policy guiding copyright matters.