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STRENGTHENING ACCESS TO GLOBAL RESEARCH INFORMATION THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS

STRENGTHENING ACCESS TO GLOBAL RESEARCH INFORMATION THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS. BY AGATHA N. KABUGU UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI MAY 2010. OBJECTIVE. To highlight the role of partnerships in improving access to research information thus enhancing research capacity in African institutions

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STRENGTHENING ACCESS TO GLOBAL RESEARCH INFORMATION THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS

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  1. STRENGTHENING ACCESS TO GLOBAL RESEARCH INFORMATION THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS BY AGATHA N. KABUGU UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI MAY 2010 Progress Through Partnerships

  2. OBJECTIVE • To highlight the role of partnerships in improving access to research information thus enhancing research capacity in African institutions • The focus is on East Africa with special emphasis on Kenya Progress Through Partnerships

  3. WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE? • Research output from Africa still very low compared to other regions/continents – approx. 27,000 papers 1999-2008 from all Africa is similar to that of the Netherlands for the same period (Thomson Reuters Africa Global Research Report 2010) • Where does Africa find itself in the World ranking of Universities? (The highest at 317 is UCT) Progress Through Partnerships

  4. WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE? • Drain of scientific talent from the continent • Lack of investment in facilities for research and teaching (see ISHReCA report) • Low ICT penetration • Under-funding of CPE • High levels of admissions to universities – under-funding from governments (where will the money come from?) • Poor mentoring of researchers Progress Through Partnerships

  5. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE LIBRARY ? • Librarians efforts at enhancing access to global research information • Being in the forefront of consortia building • Negotiating for eresources access • Integrating ICTs in library/information management • Seeking collaborations at regional/national level Progress Through Partnerships

  6. BUILDING CONSORTIA • KLISC in Kenya http://www.klisc.org • CUUL in Uganda www.cuul.or.ug • COTUL in Tanzania Progress Through Partnerships

  7. CONSORTIUM IN KENYA - KLISC • Kenya Library and Information Services Consortium established in 2003 through support from PERii • Membership • Universities • Research institutions • Public libraries • Tertiary colleges • Current membership stands at 59 institutions Progress Through Partnerships

  8. KLISC MEMBERSHIP 2010 Progress Through Partnerships

  9. BENEFITS • Collective subscription to electronic journals • Capacity building for library staff • Training of users • Peer exchange programmes Progress Through Partnerships

  10. ACCESS TO EJOURNALS THROUGH KLISC Progress Through Partnerships

  11. USAGE OF EJOURNALS UNDER KLISC Progress Through Partnerships

  12. CAPACITY BUILDING • Staff in member institutions have benefited through training on • Electronic resources management • PC trouble shooting • Bandwidth management • Web design • Monitoring and evaluation of electronic resources usage • Project management • Information literacy etc • Training of users has been ongoing Progress Through Partnerships

  13. PARTNERSHIP WITH KENET • Kenya Education Network – national research and education network Progress Through Partnerships

  14. Collaboration with KENET • KENET has worked closely with KLISC since 2004 supporting its formation and capacity building • Its role is to provide access to global internet to all universities, research institutions and tertiary colleges in Kenya Progress Through Partnerships

  15. ICT INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH KENET • KENET – NREN currently distributing about 600 Mb/s (cost - $400 per Mb/s) since the arrival of Seacom cable compared to 75 Mb/s of low quality satellite BW one year ago • Capacity expected to go upto 1 Gb/s by January 2011 • Student PC ratios still very low compared to SA, Europe and America • Great improvements in internet but campus networks still very poor Progress Through Partnerships

  16. ICT INFRASTRUCTURE - KENYA Progress Through Partnerships

  17. INTERNET AVAILABILITY INDICATORS – SELECT COUNTRIES 2009 Progress Through Partnerships

  18. Which way forward? How can we work more closely with publishers to enhance access? • Though availability of journals is high, access is low • Focus on expertise in ICT • Promotion activities • Greater support for institutions access mechanisms • Support for enhancing skills of librarians to effectively promote and engage with academics Progress Through Partnerships

  19. Which way forward for partnerships? • Mentoring of young scholars – eg INASP publisher’s programme could be extended to researchers • Support for participation in international conferences for researchers • For libraries, greater discounts to ensure continuity of availability of journals Progress Through Partnerships

  20. Your thoughts? Ideas? Feedback? THANK YOU Progress Through Partnerships

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