Knowledge management in indigenous medicine: The expected role of Ghanaian university libraries

Abstract

Purpose: The main objective of this study is to find out the current way of preserving and disseminating information on indigenous medicine in Ghanaian university libraries. Methodology: The authors adopted the descriptive survey design, with the combination of purposive and simple random sampling technique to select the respondents. Para-professional and professional librarians and indigenous medicine practitioners were the major respondents. Two data collection instruments were used; namely questionnaire and interview. Quantitative data collected were analysed using simple tables with frequencies and percentages, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Findings: Some of the findings are that apart from the Library of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology the remaining university libraries have little information resources on indigenous medicine since most of them have never thought of gathering documents on indigenous medicine. In addition, the study also indicated that some indigenous medicine practitioners want to keep to what they know, for fear of losing their intellectual property right others.

Originally: Although a great deal has been written about the importance of knowledge management relatively little attention has been paid to how knowledge creation process of indigenous healthcare can be managed, hence the need for the university library which serves as a repository of knowledge transmission to assist in the dissemination of knowledge on indigenous medicine.