Awareness and use of self-archiving options among academic librarians in Nigerian universities
| Date | 04 February 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-12-2017-0109 |
| Pages | 2-16 |
| Published date | 04 February 2019 |
| Author | Clement Chukwuma Okeji,Monica Eberechukwu Eze,Nneka Maureen Chibueze |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information in society,Information literacy,Library & information services |
Awareness and use of self-
archiving options among academic
librarians in Nigerian universities
Clement Chukwuma Okeji
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus, Nigeria
Monica Eberechukwu Eze
Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Agbani, Enugu, Nigeria, and
Nneka Maureen Chibueze
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose ofthis study was to investigate the extent to whichacademic librarians in Nigerian
universitiesuse self-archiving options to make their research papersvisible globally.
Design/methodology/approach –An online survey was designed using SurveyMonkey software to
collectdata from 394 academiclibrarians in Nigerian Universities.
Findings –The study revealedthat the academic librarians in Nigerian universitiesknow and actually use
self-archiving options suchas ResearchGate, institutional repository and Academia.eduto self-archive their
publications. While other promotionaltools such as kudos, Mendeley.com and personal websites/servers are
not popularly used by the academiclibrarians. Increased exposure of previously publishedwork, broadens
the disseminationof academic research generally, and increases institutions’visibilitywere among the factors
the academic librariansindicated as very important that motivate them to contributetheir scholarly output to
self-archivingoptions.
Research limitations/implications –One major challenge to the study is that many academic librarians
in Nigeria do not check their e-mails regularly to enable them to respond to a request to participate in an online
survey; some of them do not have stable internet facilities, whereas others are reluctant to respond to an online
questionnaire. These reasons led to a low response rate which makes it difficult to generalize findings.
Practical implications –Findings from the study will create awareness for academic librarians in
developing countries to see the need to self-archive their pre-print and accepted version of their papers in
differentself-archiving platforms.
Originality/value –Self-archiving of papers by authors will lead to an increased visibility of the author and
possible citation of the work and chances of collaboration with international colleagues for researchprojects.
Keywords Open access, Nigeria, Academic librarians, Self-archiving, Institutional repository,
Academic social networking sites
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In recent times, document-sharing services such as ResearchGate (RG), Academia.edu,
Google Scholar Citation and other profiling platforms are experiencing a strong growth,
caused by a massive incorporation of new members from all over the world and every
discipline (Ortega, 2017). Self-archiving is the act of the author depositing a free copy of an
electronic document online (pre-print, post-print, theses, book chapters) to one’s own
institution repository or openarchive for the purpose of maximizing its accessibility, usage
GKMC
68,1/2
2
Received21 December 2017
Revised14 March 2018
9 November2018
Accepted12 November 2018
GlobalKnowledge, Memory and
Communication
Vol.68 No. 1/2, 2019
pp. 2-16
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2514-9342
DOI 10.1108/GKMC-12-2017-0109
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2514-9342.htm
To continue reading
Request your trial