Browsing by Author "Raju, Reggie"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Open Access
    Library publishing for an inclusive education
    (Routledge, 2020) Raju, Reggie; Claassen, Jill; Nyahodza, Lena; Dali, Keren; Caidi, Nadia
    Higher education, in the main, should be structured such that it addresses the issue of diversity and rejects all forms of hegemony, stereotypes and biases: both as a public and a common good it must provide equal opportunity for as many as possible in the interest of a more rights-based, egalitarian, and cohesive society. However, the cost of scholarly literature has spiralled out of control, making higher education unaffordable. In a post-colonial era, it is imperative that higher education be relevant and decolonised. Unfortunately, the quest for maximizing profits by large publishing houses have not supported the goal of an affordable and decolonised education. Academic libraries are attempting to bridge this divide by providing an open access and social justice driven ‘library as a publisher’ service. This service upholds the principles of inclusivity and diversity. Library publishing provides opportunity for an inclusive, affordable and decolonised higher education.
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    Open Access
    Open Educational Resources within a Knowledge System for Achieving Quality Education SDG
    (IFLA, 2017-07-17) Raju, Reggie
    The high levels of poverty and poor access to quality education, among a myriad of other challenges, have contributed to economic and social exclusion in Africa. These exclusions must be viewed against the backdrop of the emergence of a global knowledge-based society in which the production and dissemination of knowledge has become critical for meeting social and economic needs. Education, in the view of Breidlid (2009), is critical for poverty alleviation and economic and social inclusion. Education is central to promoting sustainable development. It is therefore essential to mobilize necessary resources, including openness resources to steer the global south towards economic and social inclusion. This paper will discuss the exploration of a ‘knowledge system’ that facilitates the networking of open educational resources (OERs) to strengthen the educational system in Africa. The bringing together of contributors who use appropriate technology for innovation will enhance the educational process which will in turn advance learning for growth and development. Key to the effective contribution of knowledge systems to SDGs is information and communication technologies (ICTs). Libraries have responded positively to the potential of ICTs and have recently been utilising that potential to offer publishing services using Open Source Systems (OSS) such as Open Journal Systems (OJS), DSpace, and the Open Monograph Press (OMP). These open source systems, which are a significant component of the openness movement, are exploited to deliver open content which includes open access publishing and sharing of scholarly content. The bias in this paper is the publishing of open educational resources for the development of education in the global south. An educated and informed society will contribute to the broadening of access to wealth for social justice, growth and development.
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    Open Access
    Predatory publishing from the Global South perspective
    (Radical Open Access Conference, 2018-06-29) Raju, Reggie; Nyahodza, Lena; Claassen, Jill
    The publication of research outputs, in the main, has a social justice aim that is enacted by the desire of researchers to share their research findings for the betterment of society. There is a strong belief in the necessity of a symbiotic relationship between reader and researcher. This relationship is supported by the view that access to published knowledge is essential for the production of new knowledge, and new research builds on previous knowledge, establishing its validity through collective scrutiny. Traditionally, research has been made public through journals, meeting proceedings, and books produced largely by commercial publishers, and access to this research has had to be bought.
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    Open Access
    Restructuring for relevance: a paradigm shift for academic libraries
    (Emerald Publishing, 2018-04) Raju, Reggie; Claassen, Jill; Adam, Amina; D'Angelo, Alexander; Keraan, Sadiq; Mostert, Niel; Vonk, Saskia
    The primary purpose of this paper is to report on the development of a flexible and robust academic library structure that meets the demands of an ever changing user community and remains relevant and fit for purpose in a technology-driven age. The new structure makes provision for the delivery of new and innovative services responding to the need for a paradigm shift in 21st century academic librarianship. The move away from subject librarianship, which has been the bastion of South African academic librarianship, is significant. This paper used the exploratory method to gain new insights into library structures that have restructured for the 21st century. The exploratory study was used to gain new insights into functional librarianship. Despite the short comings of the exploratory method, the method was deemed most appropriate as UCT Libraries was not seeking definitive answers but a process that would provide opportunities to explore possibilities for subsequent processes. The move from subject librarianship to functional librarianship has given the library the opportunity to restructure. The restructured library can now offer new and/or radically expanded services to meet the demands of a 21st century academic library. The development of new and future roles and responsibilities commensurate with a robust and ‘future-driven’ structure, will consolidate the library’s role as a collaborator in the teaching and learning, and research agendas of a higher education institution. This paper will be of interest and value to library managers and staff wanting to develop a library structure that responds positively to the redefinition of the professional roles and functions of the library and to strategically position the academic library for the future. It will also be of interest to library and information science academics who may want to re-examine their curricula for the incorporation of new trends.
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    Open Access
    Staff competencies in the planning and establishing of an institutional repository at the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources
    (2018) Metlhaleng, Tlhalefo; Raju, Jayarani; Raju, Reggie
    The study sought to ascertain staff competencies in the planning and establishing of an institutional repository at the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN). In addressing the above objective, the study used the innovation-decision making process of the Diffusion of Innovations (DoI) theory (Rogers 1983) to formulate the following critical questions to guide the study: What knowledge, skills and personal attributes are required in the planning and establishing of a successful institutional repository in an academic institution?; Do BUAN staff (academics and relevant support staff) have the knowledge, skills and personal attributes necessary for planning and establishing a successful repository?; How significant a role do personal attributes such as attitudes and perceptions play in the planning and establishing of an IR at BUAN?; and, What measures may be put in place to reinforce the planning and establishing of an institutional repository at the BUAN Library? The research paradigm suitable for this study was the pragmatic paradigm because of diverse types of data used in the study. The study employed a convergent parallel mixed methods design by using both quantitative and qualitative research methods to collect data concurrently. It adopted a case study approach as the researcher undertook an in-depth enquiry into staff competencies in the planning and establishing of an institutional repository at BUAN. The study population consisted of 201 BUAN academics, three Library repository staff, and two Information Technology (IT) staff. Semi-structured interviews were used to source data from purposively selected library repository staff and BUAN IT staff. A structured questionnaire was administered to the academics. Descriptive statistics was used in the analysis of the study’s quantitative data and thematic content analysis for its qualitative data. A number of knowledge sets, skills and personal attributes emerged from the study as being required in the planning and establishing of a successful repository at BUAN, critical amongst these being knowledge of metadata and metadata standards. An important recommendation emanating from the study related to repository advocacy and outreach among BUAN academics as well as on-going training of library repository staff to keep them abreast of latest repository developments.
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    Open Access
    The transition to open: a metrics analysis of discoverability and accessibility of LIS scholarship
    (2019) Raju, Jaya; Mfengu, Andiswa; Kahn, Michelle; Raju, Reggie
    Metrics analysis of journal content has become an important point for debate and discussion in research and in higher education. The South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science (SAJLIS), a premier journal in the library and information science (LIS) field in South Africa, in its 85-year history, has had multiple editors and many contributing authors and has published over 80 volumes and 160 issues on a diversity of topics reflective of LIS theory, policy and practice. However, how discoverable and accessible has the LIS scholarship carried by the Journal been to its intended readership? SAJLIS transitioned to open access in 2012 and this new format in scholarly communication impacted the Journal significantly. The purpose of this paper is to report on a multiple metrics analysis of discoverability and accessibility of LIS scholarship via SAJLIS from 2012 to 2017. The inquiry takes a quantitative approach within a post-positivist paradigm involving computer-generated numerical data as well as manual data mining for extraction of qualitative elements. In using such a multiple metrics analysis to ascertain the discoverability and accessibility of LIS scholarship via SAJLIS in the period 2012 to 2017, the study employs performance metrics theory to guide the analysis. We highlight performance strengths of SAJLIS in terms of discoverability and accessibility of the scholarship it conveys; identify possible growth areas for strategic planning for the next 5 years; and make recommendations for further study for a more complete picture of performance strengths and areas for improvement. Significance: The importance of discoverability and accessibility of scholarship carried by a scholarly journal is conveyed. The need to use multiple metrics for objective evaluation of the discoverability and accessibility of the scholarly content of a journal is emphasised. The impact of open access on the discoverability and accessibility of the content of a scholarly journal is assessed.
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    Open Access
    UCT Libraries – social justice through OERs
    (2019) Raju, Reggie
    A presentation on the open publishing of open textbooks by UCT academics on UCT Libraries open publishing platform (Open Monograph Press) to alleviate cost of text books for UCT students.