OPEN ACCESS IN AFRICA: SITUATING BARRIERS TO THE

DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION

Lauryn LehmanMaster’s Candidate, School of Information Sciences

University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUnited States

Motivations for this Paper

■ General observation that institutional repositories and open access policies are on the rise within institutions of the global North, but less so in the global South.

■ Preliminary investigation as to the causes of this divide.

Europe North America South America Asia Africa0

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16001488

601

282

662

147

# of Repositories = 3,289

Number of Repositories by Continent- Directory of Open Access Repositories, 2016a; 2016b.

South Africa; 32

Kenya; 25

Nigeria; 19Algeria; 13

Tanzania; 11

Zimbabwe; 10

Sudan; 8

Egypt; 5

Ghana; 4Botswana; 2Cape Verde; 2

Ethiopia; 2Morocco; 2Namibia; 2Senegal; 2Uganda; 2Cameroon; 1Lesotho; 1Mozambique; 1Rwanda; 1Tunisia; 1Zambia; 1

Repositories by Country - Africa

Number of Repositories by Continent- Directory

of Open Access Repositories, 2016a;

2016b.

WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS THAT AFRICAN INSTITUTIONS

FACE IN PRODUCING AND ACCESSING OA INFORMATION?

And Why is it a Concern?

Open Access: ‘An Unprecedented Public Good’■ Increased access to information, which in turn may help to:

– Improve quality of education;– Address global health concerns;– Address environmental concerns; – Stimulate scientific inquiry and lead to scientific breakthroughs;– And, in general to help better quality of life in innumerable and

immeasurable ways. ■ Sharing information may in turn allow opportunities for researchers to:

– Have an increased presence, impact, and voice on a global stage; – And, to meet the demands of promotion and tenure systems.

Barriers to Open Access (Worldwide)■ Technology and Infrastructure■ Copyright Restrictions■ Education and Awareness

Barriers to Open Access (Africa)

■ Technology and Infrastructure■ Copyright Restrictions■ Education and Awareness

■ Lack of Funding■ Perceptions of Quantity and Quality

Funding■ Scholars in Africa are not exempt from institutional pressures to publish, and a lack of means

to publish is not a reprieve from these demands. ■ Robust funding is a critical requirement for establishing strong research networks in Africa,

whether or not the authors decide to publish the findings of this research openly. ■ However, as a continent Africa spends only 6% of its GDP on the entire education sector, and

approximately 1% on higher education (Darley and Luethge, 2016; Kigotho, 2014). – Nigeria – 7th in the world in terms of population - 0.22% – Russia – 35 million fewer inhabitants - 1.1%– Japan – 52 million fewer inhabitants – 3.47%

■ With funding deficits in mind, many institutions in these developing countries cannot afford to maintain good libraries, let alone fund faculty research. As a result, as much as 70-90% of research funding in Africa comes from foreign donors and organizations, which in turn often have influence over the topics being researched (Darley and Luethge, 2016).

Perceptions of Quantity and Quality■ Access to outside information is only half of the equation. In order for

knowledge produced in Africa to be useful, it must be shared with other researchers – both within the continent and beyond- so that new knowledge may be produced. A reciprocal sharing of information is necessary.

■ Yet African scholarship is severely underrepresented in international journals, both OA and traditionally published resources. In a sense, African scholarship is invisible to the rest of the world. – Emerald Publishing Group Study – concluded that just 2.16% of

its authors were from Africa. ■ Often, this lack of inclusion is linked directly to misperceptions

surrounding the quality and quantity of scholarship being produced in the continent. ■ Global hierarchy of knowledge;■ Western determination of ‘proper’ science;

Conclusions■ A divide will continue to exist between the global North and South if these

factors are not addressed. ■ This requires an ideological shift on the part of many scholars of the global

North, as well as increased collaboration between institutions of the global North and the global South. Collaboration will help reduce the funding burden for smaller universities, as will awareness of the growing number of international organizations that provide funds for OA research.

■ As information professionals, we are uniquely situated to: – Offer our expertise to institutions seeking to create OA programs; – Advocate for increased collaboration with other institutions;– Ensure that diverse voices are gaining a place in our collections,

offering African researchers a place at the table.