Toward Enhanced Access to Africa’s Research and Local Content: A Case Study of the Institutional Depository Project, University of Zululand, South Africa

Abstract

Institutional Repositories (IR) enhance access to institutional information resources that are of a local nature, and which also often focus on local issues. Also, the digital representation and availability of such local content through open access institutional repositories makes available to global researchers the information that would otherwise never have been accessed. This paper reviews progress and future plans in respect of the Institutional Repository of the University of Zululand, South Africa. The repository currently makes available theses and dissertations of the university. Among the essential lessons learned during the implementation of the project are the key role of an inclusive steering committee, the support of other institutions that had implemented such projects, and the importance of cultivating the awareness, thrust and participation of faculty and researchers in the project. The observed use patterns of the repository show that it is playing an invaluable role in making available previously inaccessible content.