Open Access Institutional Repositories in Nigeria Academic Libraries: Advocacy and Issues in Scholarly Communication

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine advocacy issues in open access institutional repositories in Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted to study 150 librarians from six government-funded academic institutions in South East Nigeria. The article identified 12 local content materials as relevant for publication in institutional repositories. It was found that advocacy is very critical in attracting funds and creation of awareness for institutional repositories in Nigeria. Major advocacy strategies are the use of institutions Websites, face-to-face interaction with target groups, seminars, and workshops. The study identified the National Universities Commission, Federal Ministry of Education, and institutional administration as major targets of the advocacy. Library associations, librarians, and management of the institutions are identified as very important groups to spearhead advocacy programs. The problems associated with institutional repositories advocacy were also identified. This study will serve as a useful guide on advocacy issues for institutional administrators and librarians who are interested in developing their institutional repositories using local content available to them. The originality lies in the ability of the article to survey professional librarians who gave their opinions on the questions raised which were used to generate data that addressed the objectives of the study.