The role of an Institutional Repository in the creation and use of local content by staff and students at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural resources (Luanar), Malawi

Abstract

Institutional repositories have become an essential platform for the collocation of local content created and used by a university community, making such local content more visible and accessible. Yet despite the availability of local content created at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) in Malawi, there has been little or poor visibility of the content which has translated into its underutilization. The aim of the study was therefore to investigate the role of an institutional repository in the creation and use of local content by staff and students at LUANAR with a view to propose strategies that would promote the wider visibility and usage of its local content. The objectives of the study were to; examine the extent to which the institutional repository at LUANAR supports the creation and usage of local content; establish the types of local content found in the institutional repository at LUANAR; assess the infrastructure that has been put in place in order to promote the creation and use of local content at LUANAR; establish the opportunities and challenges in using the institutional repository to promote the creation and use of local content at LUANAR; propose strategies that would promote the creation and usage of local content in the institutional repository at LUANAR. The study was informed by the Rogers Diffusion of Innovation (DIO) theory and the Social Exchange Theory (SET). The target population (3, 206) constituted the university‘s academic staff, library administrative staff and students at LUANAR. The study used a survey research method; purposive sampling was used on library Administrative staff and stratified random sampling was used on both faculty staff and students yielding a sample of 561. Qualitative data was analyzed through thematic analysis and quantitative data was analyzed through the use of graphs and tables to depict values. Some of the findings were that the institutional repository at LUANAR depended on library staff for content recruitment and uploads; content contribution to the repository by the user community was generally a challenge; although there was some level of institutional repository awareness amongst academic staff and researchers, there was a generally low levels of awareness amongst student respondents; and there was fear of plagiarism as digital content was seen to be more susceptible to copying. The study therefore provides the following recommendations: an effective advocacy and promotion campaign be made to raise awareness of the institutional repository existence to all stakeholders; the LUANAR institutional repository be made accessible beyond the Local Area Network (LAN) and LUANAR develops a mandatory contribution policy in order to add weight and create an obligation towards institutional repository contribution. The study concludes that for maximum utilization and creation of local content there must be clear policies and effective advocacy on the use of institutional repository at LUANAR.