An Evaluation of Academic Institutional Repositories in Ghana

This study aims to evaluate some academic institutional repositories (IRs) in Ghana. Data were collected using observation and interview methods by examining the various websites of seven (7) selected academic institutional repositories in Ghana. The findings revealed that the University of Ghana, Legon, leads records count of the seven Institutional Repository (IRs) examined. Dspace was the prioritized software for managing and preserving the digital contents of these IRs. Theses, dissertations and research articles were the leading contents deposited on the IRs. The majority of the IRs have incorporated RSS (Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) feeds on their IRs with few using other Web 2.0 features. English was the only interface language used on all the IRs. From the interview, the findings revealed that most of the faculty members did not use the IR very often and 9(42.9) also indicated that, they have never deposited their materials on the IR. Faculty members again indicated that, inadequate ICT connectivity and infrastructure, unreliable power supply, Copyrights and intellectual rights, financial constrain, inadequate advocacy and training on the importance of IRs to faculty and users were the major challenges of academic libraries in operating IRs in Ghana.