Institutional Repository as A Management Tool for The University Digital Collection: A Survey

Abstract

This study on institutional repository as a management tool for the university digital collection was a survey of three Nigerian University libraries: University of Jos (UniJos), Ahmadu Bello University of Zaria (ABU); Covenant University, Ota (Covenant) and Bowen University, Iwo (Bowen). There were a total of 16 respondents, the instruments used for data collections were questionnaire, and oral interview. The study found out that Mandatory deposit with thesis, dissertations, seminar papers and project work are used more by Nigerian universities to populate their IR, DSpace is the software deployed most by Nigerian universities in IR, Web visibility is the greatest benefit of IR for Nigerian universities, and Legal/copyright and low quality of materials are the two biggest challenges institutional repositories face in Nigeria. The study recommends that a policy where academic staff of Universities in Nigeria deposit their publications in Institutional Repositories by awarding more promotion points to such materials be drafted.