Open science disrupting the status quo in academic libraries: A perspective of Zimbabwe

摘要

The ever-increasing journal subscriptions have seen many universities and research institutions failing to provide access to the much-needed scholarship for propagation of research and development due to dwindling budget allocations. Hence, the adoption of open access (OA) institutional repositories (IR) by the institutions to increase access, availability and visibility of their research output to a wider readership. Institutional repository (IR) technologies have transformed the traditional academic library practice, thus upsetting the work culture of librarians. Though studies there have been studies on the impact of IRs on academic librarians elsewhere in the world, none have been done on the Zimbabwean context. This study draws from a wider study which explored utilisation of institutional repositories in Zimbabwe's public universities. The study sought to answer the question: What is the role of the academic librarian in promoting the institutional repository? The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of technology (UTAUT) informed the study, while a mixed methods approach was employed using document analysis, questionnaires and interviews to collect data from librarians in eight public universities. Findings revealed that in some instances IR responsibilities were added to existing duties for incumbent staff while in others, staff were reassigned to IR roles resulting in diverse staff categories maintaining the IRs across the universities. Recommendations for effective and efficient management of the repositories by the universities are made. The study is relevant to other academic libraries in developing countries and Africa particularly countries whose economies are crumbling.