Communicating the Value of an Institutional Repository: Experiences at Ghana's University for Development Studies

ABSTRACT

The quality of research depends greatly on access to existing information. Institutional repositories (IRs) have the potential to enhance and promote the dissemination of knowledge and research. This may lead to discoveries and innovation alongside maximizing return on investment in research and development. Following some background information, this article briefly discusses the processes involved in the establishment of Ghana's University for Development Studies (UDS) IR (UDSspace). Marketing and advocacy strategies employed to engage Faculty to enable them to contribute meaningfully and effectively in the populating of the IR are outlined and benefits described. The study uses a quantitative method. A questionnaire was used to elicit data from faculty. This article describes the various communication methods used to promote the IR and evaluates their effectiveness in getting users to participate in populating the IR. The survey found that although as high as 80.3% of respondents were aware of the benefits of an IR and 66.2% were aware of the existence of the UDS IR, 86.8% of respondents had not submitted to the IR.

KEYWORDS:

• Institutional repositories
• academic libraries
• marketing
• intellectual output
• Ghana