No abstract

No abstract

South African higher education institutions are the largest producers of research output on the African continent.

Knowledge, as a prerequisite for development, is contingent on information. The main value of information is in its ability to be used, reused, and shared. Open access (OA) allows for the easy dissemination and preservation of information by providing all scholarly communication and knowledge at no cost to the end user. In the rapidly expanding, global knowledge-based economy, Africa's steady progress from the peripheral to the epicenter of knowledge production is not to be ignored, not least because of its reliance on OA. Such access environments and institutional repositories throughout the continent are playing significant roles in maximizing the impact of research output. This paper reveals that OA content is more citable, not simply because of the quality of the output, but instead of the advantage that OA brings in maximizing accessibility and increased citation. It goes on to show that OA will enhance the research community's existing system for evaluating and rewarding research productivity. Ultimately, OA has the ability to elevate (South) Africa, its universities and institutions, to the status of knowledge producers rather than mere knowledge consumers.

Libraries are critical contributors to knowledge generation. The paper provides a brief examination of the evolution of libraries and their contribution to literacy and information provision and access to that information. However, the mode of access has signifi cantly changed, which has brought with it a different set of challenges. These include, among others, the dismantling of barriers to access in an era of information explosion and the moral obligation to drive access to knowledge and information. This paper was prepared as a discussion document for the Presidentelect's Brainstorming Session held at the recent IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Québec City, Canada on 12 August 2008.