Assessment of Digital Access Control Methods Used by Selected Academic Libraries in South-West Nigeria

Abstract

This article is aimed at acquainting and equipping librarians and information professionals with the knowledge that would enable them establish an effective strategy to protect e-resources from such abuses as plagiarism, piracy and infringement of intellectual property rights. The descriptive survey was used, with questionnaire, observation and interview as data collection tools. A survey questionnaire was administered to librarians and library officers in five federal university libraries in Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ogun and Lagos States. Findings revealed that none of the respondents was aware of anti-circumvention laws and digital rights management systems. The study creates awareness about access control method(s), policies and regulations for the governance of, and use of e-resources. It is expected that such awareness would reduce litigations associated with abuse of e-resources while protecting the authors and the publishers’ interests.