Recently I edited a themed issue of New Review of Academic Librarianship on the theme of "Librarian as Communicator"
I was really pleased to have an article in the volume that deals with the issue of open access in the context of Ghana's University for Development Studies. Twenty five years ago I worked in another West African county - Sierra Leone, and the issue of access to scholarship and publishing was and continues to be a key concern there and in most other African countries. While I'm pleased we are discussing topics such as how to develop academic writing among Irish librarians, we also need to consider how we can help librarians to publish in institutions and countries that face challenges we don't encounter. When I taught librarianship in the University of Sierra Leone (1989-1991) the University could not afford to buy any journals and was dependent on donations of books. This provides it's own set of challenges in many areas including developing academic writing and publishing. An institutional repository provides some solutions and of course challenges including the familiar challenge of getting people to deposit material. The article gives an insight into these issues.
I was really pleased to have an article in the volume that deals with the issue of open access in the context of Ghana's University for Development Studies. Twenty five years ago I worked in another West African county - Sierra Leone, and the issue of access to scholarship and publishing was and continues to be a key concern there and in most other African countries. While I'm pleased we are discussing topics such as how to develop academic writing among Irish librarians, we also need to consider how we can help librarians to publish in institutions and countries that face challenges we don't encounter. When I taught librarianship in the University of Sierra Leone (1989-1991) the University could not afford to buy any journals and was dependent on donations of books. This provides it's own set of challenges in many areas including developing academic writing and publishing. An institutional repository provides some solutions and of course challenges including the familiar challenge of getting people to deposit material. The article gives an insight into these issues.
Edwin S Thompson, Miriam L Akeriwe
and Angela Achia Aikins (University for Development Studies, Ghana)
Communicating the Value of an Institutional Repository: Experiences at Ghana’s University for Development Studies
Communicating the Value of an Institutional Repository: Experiences at Ghana’s University for Development Studies
Further information and comments on the article to
Miriam L. Akeriwe
Librarian, Tamale Campus,
University for Development Studies
Box TL 1350, Tamale, Ghana
Miriam L. Akeriwe
Librarian, Tamale Campus,
University for Development Studies
Box TL 1350, Tamale, Ghana
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