Institutional repository: access and use by academic staff at Egerton University, Kenya
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-02-2017-0018 |
| Published date | 13 June 2017 |
| Date | 13 June 2017 |
| Pages | 276-284 |
| Author | Felicitas Ciabere Ratanya |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries,Library strategy,Library promotion |
Institutional repository: access
and use by academic staff at
Egerton University, Kenya
Felicitas Ciabere Ratanya
Egerton University, Egerton, Kenya
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the access and use of the institutional repository (IR)
among academic staff at Egerton University.
Design/methodology/approach –The paper provides a description of the building and development of the
IR at the Egerton university and describes expected benefits of the repository to the University and relevant
stakeholders. A survey was conducted among 84 academic staff with an aim of examining their levels of
awareness on the existence of the IR at the Egerton University and assess their access and use. Through a
structured questionnaire both quantitative and qualitative data were collected.
Findings –The studyrevealed that majority ofthe academic staff at the EgertonUniversity are still notaware
of the existence of theIR. Staff also faced challenges in accessing and using the content available. The paper
provided suggestions on how best to enhancethe access and utilization of the IRs amongthe academic staff.
Practical implications –From a practical point of view, the paper provides implications on the access and
use of IRs by the academic staff. The paper points out some challenges faced by this group of users which
other academic institutions may try to solve in their respective contexts.
Originality/value –Findings and discussions provided in the paper will pave way to solving the challenges
faced in access and use of IR by the academic staff at the Egerton University.
Keywords Institutional repositories, Digital preservation, Open access, Dspace, Egerton University,
Open-source software
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In the last few decades the advancement of Information Communication Technologies (ICT)
particularly the internet and the World Wide Web have enhanced the global mediums of
communication especially in the scholarly sphere. In the age of electronic publishing and
digital content, academic institutions are increasingly realizing the importance of IRs as
vital infrastructure for scholarly communication. Such a realization has created new models
for disseminating scholarly research. Consequently the creation of new knowledge has
redefined the relationship between authors, publishers and academic institutions. Currently
open access (OA) has particularly gained momentum in providing access to authentic
literature, free of charge. Most of the content available through OA is also free of copyright
as well as licensing restrictions. A major advantage of OA content is that it is highly cited
compared to that which is not on OA, whereby publication of research in commercial
journals, the publishers often limit access rights.
According to Xia (2009) “library publishing is not a new endeavor.”The idea of library
involvement in online journal began several years and ever since the idea has been adopted by
many academic institutions. As such, academic libraries are making diverse contributions to
the development of many types of digital repositories, particularly those housing locally created
digital content –including new digital objects or digitized versions of locally held works.
An institutional repository (IR) refers to, “a set of services offered by a university or
group of universities to members of its community for the management and dissemination
of scholarly materials in digital format created by the institution and its community
members (Halder and Chandra, 2012).”Such materials include e-print, technical reports,
theses and dissertations, conference proceedings and teaching materials.
Library Management
Vol. 38 No. 4/5, 2017
pp. 276-284
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-02-2017-0018
Received 9 February 2017
Revised 16 February 2017
Accepted 24 February 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
276
LM
38,4/5
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