INASP Newsletter: The Role of Libraries

[Use the link above to access the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) Newsletter. “INASP works with partners to support global research communication through innovation, networking and capacity strengthening, focusing on the needs of developing and emerging countries... INASP was established by the International Council for Science (ICSU) in 1992, and was registered as a UK charity in 2004.” The current newsletter includes the following articles on OA topics of interest: [1] Building Institutional Repositories in KLISC Member Institutions in Kenya and [2] Institutional Repositories for Open Access: The Ghanaian Experience] “This year sees INASP celebrate the 20th anniversary of our founding as an organisation. In this issue we celebrate this anniversary with a series of articles describing some of the varied library developments which are taking place in our partner countries at the present time. INASP has been a strong supporter of sustainable library development throughout these last two decades. It is not difficult to understand why: libraries have traditionally been the conduit through which researchers have gained access to print resources and this continues to be the case in the electronic environment. As the essential link between access and dissemination of information, libraries are ideally placed to serve the production of scholarly research.However, in order to maintain this central and core role, libraries must nowadays accommodate not only the rapid changes in IT but also the availability of new technologies, tools, and digital resources. These are changing the way scholars conduct their work, keep current in their field of study, and communicate their research. Invariably this needs to be done against a background of limited financial resources. Libraries need to adapt to meet these challenges – not only in terms of the new technology but also in terms of new management, organisational and cost-sharing structures to reflect the move from a print-based to electronic environment. So an important part of INASP’s remit is to help equip librarians with appropriate skills to support scholarly research and communication in this new digital environment, recognising that the changing environment demands constant re-skilling of staff. . In addition to offering training in Information Literacy, the use and monitoring of e-resources, library marketing and advocacy, we also work with Schools of Library and Information Science to help with curriculum revision, thereby contributing to the development of a cadre of newly professionally qualified librarians competent to work in the digital environment. We also help to develop and strengthen library consortia to enable pooled funding, collective purchasing, advocacy for proper financial support and other collaborative activities which will help to strengthen the librarian’s role as a key facilitator in information resource assessment, access, use, management and development. With the growing maturity of open source software, an increasing part of our work in recent years has centred on helping libraries to strengthen the mechanisms or infrastructure that will support the continued availability of e-resources. The many workshops in support of library automation and institutional repositories have not only enabled librarians to modernise their institutions and provide a gateway to digital content, but have also demonstrated their ability to take leadership roles in planning and building their services.”