Revolutionising scholarly communications through institutional repositories: empirical findings from university (college) in malawi

Abstract

The study investigated an Institutional Repository (IR) at Kamuzu College of Nursing (KCN), one of the constituent colleges of the University of Malawi. A mixed methods approach which was implemented in two phases was adopted. In phase one, a questionnaire was sent to six library staff and 35lecturers at KCN. In phase two, follow-up interviews were conducted with the Head of an IR at KCN to seek clarification on some issues that came out after analysing the data collected in phase one. Results show that an IR at KCN was established to increase access to health information and to preserve institutionally produced documents. The contents of an IR at KCN according to the findings include research articles, dissertations, administrative forms, Ministry of Health Policies, Ministry of Education Policies, University of Malawi Policies, and Laws of Malawi. Some of the benefits that have come along with the establishment of an IR include: preservation of institutionally produced content and increased access to scholarly work by the wider college community. However, accessing an IR via intranet only, coupled with poor marketing of an IR, legal and copyright issues and unwillingness on the part of researchers (lecturers) to submit their works for depositing in an IR are the key factors that militate against the smooth running of an IR at KCN.