Institutional Repository as a tool for research management: A case study of BIUST Library.

Abstract

The increased reliance on information communication technology (ICT), coupled with the change in the research process has led to the production of large volumes of data. This has compelled those in the information profession, especially librarians, to develop their skills set in order to cope with the new developments. Governments and funding agencies have made it mandatory for researchers to showcase their data management plans that support access, sharing and long term preservation hence academic libraries have strategically positioned themselves to support research data management services. Botswana government established the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) in 2005 as a national strategic initiative with the main objective of helping transform Botswana’s economy from being resource based to a knowledge based through skills capacity building in Science and Engineering Technology. BIUST library in its quest to ensure proper management of research output by its community piloted an institutional repository (IR) as one of its strategic objective. The paper outlines how the library implemented the IR in-house, and the approach it used. It also covers challenges faced such as lack of funds and lessons learned during the implementation process. The paper concludes by highlighting the success of the project implementation with regards to stakeholder relations. It further outlines the proposed workflow that the library intends to adopt, future plans for skills development to mitigate the challenges.