Abstract:
The article explores the usage of Open Access Institutional
Repositories in universities. The quantitative research approach
and survey design were adopted, and simple random sampling
and stratified sampling techniques were employed. A questionnaire
was used as a research instrument to gather appropriate
data for the study; descriptive and inferential statistics
were used as statistical tools to analyze data. The study looked
at the level of usage of Open Access Institutional Repositories,
reasons for Open Access Institutional Repositories usage, and
ways of enhancing usage of Open Access Institutional
Repositories in universities. Although the level of Open Access
Institutional Repositories usage was low, all the respondents
were willing to use it (deposit in and download from Open
Access Institutional Repositories). The article recommends strategies
for the usage of Open Access Institutional Repositories
in universities. This strategy consists of improvements in the
user experience and user interfaces, archiving services, advocacy
and marketing, Open Access Institutional Repositories
policy, and automatic harvesting. Universities will be able to
determine which factors affect the usage of such repositories
in libraries and will be able to design strategies on how to
sustain and manage them.
