Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of open access institutional repositories (IR) in enhancing the global visibility and impact of Nigerian scholarly publication. Design/methodology/approach -This is a literature-based opinion paper which examines the problem of open access IR in Nigeria providing pragmatic suggestions that would address the challenges of making Nigerian scholarly publications accessible internationally. Findings -While the paper acknowledges several problems that impede the building of open access IR, it equally highlights some necessary requirements for the building of IR with a road map for the development of functional IR in Nigeria. Practical implications -The proliferation of universities and other higher institutions that are in one way or the other engaged in research activities suggests that Nigeria would have generated a lot of research to facilitate speedy development. Available evidence shows that in recent years scholarly publications in Nigeria lack viable means of global dissemination, which has reduced the global visibility of many publications from the country. This paper focuses on the current situation in scholarly publications in Nigeria and examines the need for building of institutional open access repositories and its influence in the dissemination of scholarly research from the country to the international scholarly community. Originality/value -The originality of the paper is purely the proposal for the building of IR in Nigeria which includes creation of awareness on IR, government sponsorship of IR, development of information and communication technology infrastructure, use of effective advocacy, submission of electronic theses and dissertations, and self-archiving mandate. The paper concludes that open access IR are the most viable means of ensuring the global visibility and impact of Nigerian scholarship.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current status of electronic theses and dissertations (ETD) projects in Nigerian university libraries. Design/methodology/approach -A survey research methodology was applied. A total of 125 questionnaires were distributed to librarians in eight government-funded universities in South Eastern Nigeria. Findings -Only three out of the eight universities surveyed have started ETD projects in their libraries. Other universities have the intention of adopting ETD but very little has been done towards this. The study also revealed that university libraries in Nigeria stand to benefit immensely from ETD projects. Some of these benefits as revealed from the findings include enhancing scholarly communication in Nigeria, promoting the global visibility of Nigerian universities, and enhancing research dissemination. The results of the study also revealed some challenges of ETD in Nigeria. Strategies to mitigate these challenges were also identified from the findings. Practical implications -The paper establishes that the adoption of ETD in Nigerian university libraries is very low. Nigerian universities must therefore adopt a pragmatic approach to develop an ETD program that will facilitate the dissemination of research documented in theses and dissertations. Originality/value -The originality of the work lies in the empirical evidence obtained from the eight university libraries surveyed.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This study seeks to examine the management of local content materials for open access institutional repositories in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach -A survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 85 librarians from seven government funded universities in South East Nigeria were used for the study.Findings -From the findings 15 local content materials were identified as relevant for publication in institutional repositories. Similarly a major method of acquiring these local contents is by encouraging staff to deposit their publications in the university libraries. It was also found out that providing a subject index to the local contents and their digitization were effective methods of organizing the materials for the institutional repository. The findings also showed that an increase in the visibility of the authors, promotion of university ranking and efficient dissemination of research findings were among the benefits of publishing in institutional repositories. The problems and strategies of publishing in institutional repositories were also identified through the findings. Practical implications -This study will serve as a useful guide for university administrators and librarians who are interested in developing their institutional repositories using local contents available to them. It will also be of great value to project managers who are engaged in the digitization of their local contents. Social implications -Research works generated in Nigeria and other developing countries are poorly disseminated and therefore lack global visibility. The publication of these research findings in institutional repositories of individual universities will not only improve the visibility and utilization of the research but will also increase the global ranking of the universities and researchers who have published the works in the repository. Originality/value -This paper is on the use of local content information resources in building institutional repositories in Nigerian university libraries. These studies will be useful for university libraries, particularly in developing countries, that intend to build their institutional repositories.

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This article analyzes the sources cited in articles published in two linguistics journals, Applied Linguistics and Journal of Linguistics , from 2001 to 2010. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted using bibliometric indicators, such as types of cited sources, timeliness of cited sources, authorship patterns, rank lists of the most frequently cited journals and authors, degree of research collaboration, and yearly distribution of articles in the journals. A total of 884 papers were reviewed. The papers analyzed provided a total of 15,283 bibliographic references, with an average of 17.2 citations per paper. References to books and monographs dominated, making up 53.3 percent of citations, while references to journals accounted for 35.9 percent. More than 70 percent of the cited sources exceeded ten years old. Findings also revealed that sole authorship dominated reports on linguistics research. Single-authored sources constituted 63.2 percent of the cited works, while 36.8 percent had multiple authors. The degree of collaboration in linguistics research was very low, with joint research projects making up only 0.37 percent of the articles. Twenty-three most frequently cited journals were identified, with Applied Linguistics and Linguistic Inquiry ranking first and second, respectively. Similarly, twenty-eight frequently cited authors were identified, with Noam Chomsky ranking first. This study would be useful for linguistics research and for collection development of libraries, particularly academic libraries that need to support researchers in linguistics.

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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.

Purpose Agitation for adoption of freedom of access to government information is an emerging issue in Africa and has gathered momentum since 2000 when South Africa passed the first freedom of information (FoI) law in the continent. This paper aims to discuss the extent of passage of FoI laws in Africa, the reality of their implementation in some of the countries and the critical challenges and recommendations. Design/methodology/approach A document analysis approach was adopted for gathering vital information on the realities and challenges of FoI implementation in Africa. Literature on the concepts, principles and practice of FoI were reviewed, and relevant facts and figures were extracted to buttress the authors’ argument. Findings Only 14 (25.5 per cent) of the 55 countries in Africa had signed FoI law as on January 31, 2015; 16 (29.0 per cent) are still lobbying, while 25 (45.5 per cent) of the states had no significant plan yet. Political factors like colonial legacy, poor leadership, inexperienced record managers for the implementation of FoI Acts (FoIA), corruption and hydra-headed clauses such as “national security, and other privacy rights” impede access to government records in Africa. The paper recommended among others that African countries should amend restrictive laws that continue to impede full implantation of FoI laws. Practical implications Implementation of the provisions in the FoIA in Africa will not be realistic unless those restrictive clauses that hinder citizens from freely accessing government information are reviewed in line with free access to information. Originality/value This paper appears to be the first to review the status of FoIA in Africa since the first right to information laws were signed in the continent.