Institutional Repositories for Open Access:

the Ghanaian experience

Abednego CorleteySystems Analyst/Librarian

Abstracts• 2008, first Institutional Repository in Ghana set up at KNUST• Six months later and with 560 postgraduate theses online, KNUST

appeared 52nd Webometrics ranking for 100 best universities in Africa.• CARLIGH & INASP helped four academic institutions set up repositories to

showcase research from their institutions

• Aims: – What is the situation presently?– What were/are the challenges?– What are the achievements? – Any lessons to be learnt? – The paper reports the challenges from the set up stages to the

present and provides useful lessons for others in the process of replicating the efforts.

• Method: In-depth interviews, observations, checks from the websites, reports and secondary documents obtained from the Libraries were used to collect data for the paper.

• If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. - Isaac Newton,

(Letter to Robert Hooke, February 5, 1675English mathematician & physicist (1642 - 1727)

Introduction• Ngulube (2007) asserts that “scholars use research

findings to generate further research, models and archetypes.”

• Prosser (2003) posits that “IRs provide a means for institutions to create archives and make available their wealth of knowledge.”

• Shearer (2003) adds that “IRs provide access to scholarly material without the economic barriers that currently exist in scholarly publishing.”

The Institutions

• University of Cape Coast, (UCC)

• University of Education, Winneba, (UEW)

• Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, (GIMPA)

• Methodist University College, (MUCG)

University of Cape Coast (UCC)• The College attained the status of a full

University on October 1, 1971

• Train graduate professional teachers for Ghana's second cycle institutions /MoE

• Authority to confer degrees, diplomas and certificates

• Student population of over 35,922

University of Education, Winneba, (UEW)

• Established by PNDC Law 322 (1992)

• University charged with responsibility of producing professional educators

• Train competent professional teachers for all levels of education

Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, (GIMPA)

• Established in 1961 as a joint Ghana Government/United Nations (UN)

• UN handed the Institute to Government of Ghana • Re-designated Ghana Institute of Management and Public

Administration in 1969 • Independent public tertiary institution that offer training in

– Leadership, – Management and Administration, – Policy Analysis, – Consultancy and Research, – Distance Learning,– Gender and Development

Methodist University College, (MUCG)

• Granted accreditation by the National Accreditation Board in August, 2000

• The first batch of 213 students reported for lectures in November, 2000

• 3743 students at the end of the 2008/2009 academic year.

Problems• Crashed Server within first week of installation• Fire outbreak at Network Operations Centre• Long procurement process (3 mths minimum)• Hard copies of theses submitted by students• unreliable power supply• Lack of public IPs for the libraries• Lack of policy on IR• Lack of policy on copyright

Problems …cont’d

• Lukewarm attitude of Management• Resistance to change – Mainly on the part of supervisors due to fear of

exposure– Inability to use ICT properly

RecommendationsClearly defined policy governing operations of

the repository That policy should be approved by and signed by

management before initiating implementationPolicy should include the ff in addition to other

rules

Recommendations …cont’d 1

• An introductory statement on objectives of policy and scope of coverage

• The objectives of the Institutional Repository and its benefits.

• A clear statement on who constitute the stakeholders and their responsibilities

Recommendations …cont’d 2

• Formation of a management committee to oversee implementation of the policy

• Specific meeting times should be indicated for the committee.

• A request for at least one IT support staff. – A library staff could be rescheduled for this job

• A clear statement on equipment required to run the platform and maintenance regimen.

Recommendations …cont’d 3

• A clear statement that the repository server be provided with a public IP address/ dedicated bandwidth

• If on windows, statement on protection of servers from hackers and virus attacks.

• Statement on backup procedure for records - offsite.

Recommendations …cont’d 4

• A statement on the location of the repository server.– It is suggested that this be located at the Network

Operation Centre.

• Statement on the standard format for all theses/dissertations.

• .pdf? .doc?• Keywords• abstracts

Recommendations …cont’d 5

• Software maintenance and finally• Training of staff working on repository

• If these are glossed over they will come back to haunt you.

• Thank you

• Questions