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  DOI Prefix   10.20431


 

International Journal of Managerial Studies and Research
Volume 2, Issue 3, 2014, Page No: 27-36

The Potential Impact of Oers on Zou Library Services: A Case for the Zimbabwe Open University Mashonaland East Region Library

Gift Rupande 1

1.Department of Student Affairs, Zimbabwe Open University

Citation : Gift Rupande, The Potential Impact of Oers on Zou Library Services: A Case for the Zimbabwe Open University Mashonaland East Region Library International Journal of Managerial Studies and Research 2014 , 2(3) : 27-36

Abstract

This study is a case study undertaken at the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU), Mashonaland East Region, to assess the impact of OERs on library service provision. In order to solicit data from respondents, questionnaires were used. Two library staff was conveniently sampled for this study. Results from the study established that library staff has the potential to promote and introduce information resources to users. The study also found out that answering questions by researchers about OERs and the variety of things OER articles can be used for is another way library personnel can help "channel" this information. Knowing the area in which a researcher is heavily involved allows library personnel to make referrals to relevant OER journals thus providing alternatives to traditional publications. It was also established that library staff can be involved in setting up repositories to facilitate "green" OERs, which is when the researcher deposits the final version of the article to a public repository. This helps researchers find information published by their own community of scholars. The paper established that the library staffs is not familiar with open access resources. The study therefore recommends that the university could assist with dedicating more staff time and resources to providing much more detailed advice and support for academics navigating their way through Open Access (OA) publishing, in particular on issues relating to Intellectual Publishing Rights and publisher agreements. Since OA is still a new and developing area, there is need to keep abreast on what is happening both locally and internationally hence the paper recommends the need for initial and continuous training in OA by the library staff


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