Browsing by Department "Department of Knowledge and Information Stewardship"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 33
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    Open Access
    Analysis of the digital information literacy skills of geoscientists at the Geological Survey of Namibia
    (2023) Hipangwa, Martin; Mfengu, Andiswa
    In the context of the Namibian geosciences, the symbiotic relationship between digital information literacy skills and the geoscientists is not evidenced by literature. The purpose of the study was to critically analyse the digital information literacy skills of the geoscientists at the Geological Survey of Namibia at the Ministry of Mines and Energy. The study used the six frames presented in the Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework of Information Literacy for Higher Education (2016) as a theoretical framework that underpinned the study. Pragmatism paradigm was used as a philosophical lens to examine geoscientists' digital information literacy skills. A convergent parallel mixed methods approach was used and a case study research design to provide in-depth analysis of the digital information literacy skills. The study collected quantitative data via online questionnaire surveys with 32 (60%) geoscientists. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews from purposively sampled managers (7) and librarians (3) within GSN, and auto-ethnography was used as a secondary qualitative data collection method since the researcher is a senior librarian at the institution and, thus, a good data source. The study had four critical questions which explored geoscientists digital information literacy skills, challenges and gaps experienced in acquiring and enhancing these skills, services offered and strategies that can be used in the acquisition and enhancement of digital information literacy skills of geoscientists. The study findings revealed from the questionnaire survey that geoscientists are moderately high and highly skilled in the different six frames of the ACRL framework. While GSN managers, auto- ethnographer and librarians regarded the geoscientists as being fairly skilled in digital information literacy. The study found, lack of digital information literary trainings, collaborative spaces, motivation and professional support, funding and inability to use new technologies as key challenges experienced by geoscientists. The library and various Divisions are providing support services to geoscientists to acquire these skills. The study presented that digital information literacy skills trainings, better funding and a need based instructional plan can be put in place as some of the strategies to advance these skills. To aid in the quest for DIL skills by geoscientists, the study recommended further specialised digital information literacy skills trainings, establishment of community of practice, intentional funding for capacity development and investing in relevant digital infrastructure. Key words: digital information literacy skills, geoscientists, Geological Survey of Namibia
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    Open Access
    Assessment of the impact of community library services: a case study of Khomas region, Namibia
    (2024) Haindaka, Shihawa Alberthina; Mfengu, Andiswa
    Community libraries play a crucial role in addressing the inequality stemming from the apartheid era through the provision of a cohesive system aimed at offering free access to library services to equip users with necessary knowledge and skills for lifelong learning and support education. However, community libraries are under scrutiny to demonstrate their value to secure funding and the lack of literature regarding the impact of community library services is perhaps the reason why community libraries are under increasing pressure to capture and demonstrate their value to society and stakeholders. The lack of literature on the holistic impact of community library services is one of the factors contributing to the library budget cuts. Hence, the broad objective of this study was to assess the impact of community library services in Khomas region, Namibia. The study was informed by Service Quality Models to explore the economic, social and cultural benefits of community library services, so as to provide a more holistic understanding of the impact of community libraries. A mixed methods research approach and a multiple case study design were employed to address the study objective. The study collected data through printed questionnaires with 381 random sampled library users and face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 10 purposively sampled librarians from the six selected community libraries across Khomas region. The study found that library services such as free internet access services; basic ICT training services and after school programs were beneficial to library users. The free provision of services in community libraries positively influences users' skill development, academic performances, personal success, knowledge gain, social inclusion and cultural advancements. The lack of reliable ICT facilities emerged as a major challenge which is a result of the lack of intentional funding for acquisition and maintenance of ICT facilities, a key aspect to lessening the digital divide. Moreover, management issues between City of Windhoek and Ministry of Education in managing community libraries was also noted as a key challenge. While community libraries are beneficial to library users, there was no system in place to holistically capture community libraries' impact beyond statistics. The study's suggests that community libraries need to prioritize funding for ICT infrastructure, explore new librarian roles to support library marketing efforts and develop systems to capture tangible evidence of library services impact, beyond statistical accumulation of library service usage.
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    Open Access
    Building "sustainable" infrastructure in a highly distributed environment
    (UCT Libraries, 2024-12-12) Shearer, Kathleen
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    Open Access
    Building biodiversity data infrastructure for science and decision-making: information needs and information-seeking patterns in South Africa
    (2020) Daly, Brenda; De Jager, Karin; Higgs, Richard
    Biodiversity information is critical to inform science-based policy development as well as to support responsible and accountable land-use planning and decision-making practices. The uptake of available information for these uses is, however, not yet quantified or understood. Here, the extent to which the needs of biodiversity information end-users in South Africa are supported via existing information sources was investigated, at the science, practice and policy interface, using the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI's) online conservation mapping service users as a case study. A quantitative investigation of the information needs of end-users of biodiversity information was made, their information-seeking patterns analysed and the various uses of information by different user groups in South Africa investigated. This allowed for the implications of these needs and behaviour on system design and information provision to be formulated to better design the envisaged National Biodiversity Information System at SANBI. Based on a representative sample of end-users from policy, implementation and research backgrounds, a questionnaire was used and the responses were examined to determine which content was most useful, what barriers and enablers they face when trying to access biodiversity information, and what degree of interdisciplinary information is needed in addressing environmental problems. A sample of 778 (13%) respondents from a total of 5977 biodiversity information users was analysed from across the country. The study found that the lack of appropriate or available information remains one of the three highest unmet needs of biodiversity information end-users. The absence of good prior knowledge of sources of biodiversity information and unreliable and inaccurate information are two additional factors that hinder respondents in finding biodiversity information and achieving their goals. The major implication of information deficiency identified by respondents related to uncertain and/or inaccurate outcomes resulting in ill-informed decision-making. A key outcome of the analysis of the survey results are a series of recommendations on how these issues might be addressed, and it is envisioned that these may be used to help guide the development of a National Biodiversity Information System. A broad range of recommendations have been proposed, principally that the interoperability of information from various adjacent and disparate fields of study be combined with biodiversity information as a means of addressing environmental problems.
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    Open Access
    Current situation and trend of diamond open access in China
    (UCT Libraries, 2025) Xiwen, Liu
    China has been actively promoting open access for more than 20 years.
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    Open Access
    Developing a holistic framework for assessing research impact in South African higher education institutions, using a research-intensive university as a case study
    (2022) Mfengu, Andiswa; Raju, Jayarani
    Scholarly communication has become less linear, less opaque and less rigid than before as both the research process and the end products are being transformed inexorably. The impact of research goes beyond academia, research also impacts society, and thus academic reward systems need to also be transformed to align with evolving research impact practices. The study sought to gather a complete view of research impact assessment practices, challenges and best practice for assessing research impact across disciplinary spaces at the University of Cape Town, the case study for this research, and based on these findings develop a holistic framework for the assessment of research impact to facilitate transformative and responsible research assessment for higher education institutions such as the University of Cape Town. The study was informed by the Payback Framework and New Institutional Theory. It adopted, within a pragmatist paradigm, an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach and data were collected using four instruments: an online questionnaire survey (255 academics, researchers and postdoctoral fellows); document analysis (six documents); semi-structured interviews (30 academics and researchers, and 10 key informants); and, bibliometric analysis (20 academics and researchers). Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data were analysed thematically with NVivo. The study found that bibliometrics were the most used metric indicator for the 'Advancing knowledge' benefit category and academics and researchers surveyed seem satisfied with the use of bibliometrics to evidence this benefit category. Qualitative indicators were regarded more appropriate for evidencing other impacts beyond academia. Bibliometrics and 'Advancing knowledge' benefit category were also prioritised by the institution (UCT) and funders. Behavioural impact and bias were some of the main challenges with metric indicators that the surveyed academics and researchers highlighted; 'Responsible research practices' and 'Open science' were seen as being important principles for metrics use. Interview participants found that a meaningful approach for assessing research impact should be flexible, broad and context-sensitive. A case study technique (combination of qualitative and quantitative methods) and impact narratives were found to be the best approach for assessing research impact across disciplines in higher education. Institutional culture and structures were found to influence academics and researchers in 'not productive' ways as study participants found rules and structures to be limiting rather than providing an enabling environment for contributing to the discipline and society. Institutional transformation agenda and how academics and researchers are assessed were found to be misaligned. Lastly, extensive consultation and engagement with various stakeholders in the research community was found to be imperative to the process for the development of a holistic framework for assessing research impact. The study makes contributions to theory, practice and policy formulation. The proposed framework integrates the logic model, process-view approach and institutional context in assessing research impact. Research impact assessment is complex and multi-dimensional necessitating flexibility, contextualisation and working together. Higher education institutions and funders need to expand the range of academic activities they incentivise and reward; and thus move towards a less limited set of research impact assessment practices. Institutions and funders need to align policy and practice related to research impact assessment as any fundamental change necessitates a shift in policies, processes and structures for the new changes to be adopted and institutionalised. Lastly, a holistic and meaningful research impact assessment framework needs to be balanced, broad and responsible, and should align decisionmaking to the strategic mission and goals of the institution and funder
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    Open Access
    Experiences in Open Access Publishing and Other Scholarly Publishing
    (UCT Libraries, 2025) Onyango, Mary
    African Indigenous vegetables research focus, Multidisciplinary, Multi-Institutional and participatory, collaborative research, World Vegetable Centre was key partner.
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    Open Access
    Financing diamond
    (UCT Libraries, 2025) Choyonowski, Emily
    Issues with data: discrepancies across different databases, lack of integrated data, misleading location information, inactive websites, incomplete online information, inactive online information, inactive, duplicate and out of date records.
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    Open Access
    Histories intertwined: tracing the evolution of the South African Astronomical Observatory Library and information service within the historical development of astronomy in South Africa
    (2024) De Young, Theresa; Raju, Jaya
    This paper explores, in detail, how library and information service provision to the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) evolved in the context of the historical development of astronomy in South Africa. It is based on empirical research that collected data through the examination of literature, SAAO archival material as well as via semi-structured interviews with a purposefully selected sample of individuals who are experts in the field of astrophysics or astronomy libraries. The study collected information on the role of library and information services in astronomy and documented the historical significance of the library in the context of astronomical research at the SAAO. This paper aims to contribute toward the existing literature covering the history of the SAAO, close the gap in the literature covering the history of its library and information service, as well as to contribute towards the international history of astronomy. The paper suggests a future library and information service that remains closely tied to exciting developments in astronomical research within an electronically connected research landscape.
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    Open Access
    Key factors in open access
    (UCT Libraries, 2024) Garcia, Arianna
    The presentation covers the key factors in open access including commodification, from public to private and losses in diamond open access journals.
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    Open Access
    Knowledge production practices in higher institutions of learning in Zambia: a case of the University of Zambia
    (University of Cape Town, 2020) Kanyengo, Christine Wamunyima; Smit, J Gretchen
    The core business of higher education institutions such as universities is knowledge production. This is achieved by conducting research which results in various research products being produced, as well as through teaching and the production of graduates. The main objective of the study was to explore and describe knowledge production practices and their attributes within a university environment at the University of Zambia. The study's major contribution to knowledge is that it indicates to what extent this objective is achieved. A mixed methods case study approach that used both quantitative and qualitative research methodology was adopted for the study. The mixed methods analysis framework was based on grounded theory, bibliometric techniques, and concurrent triangulation. The site of investigation was the School of Medicine at the University of Zambia. The sampling technique also adopted a mixed methods approach by using purposive, availability and stratified purposeful sampling to sample the respondents. The PubMed/Medline database, academic staff, key informants and the documents reviewed all served as the key sources of information for the study. Data obtained from PubMed/Medline, questionnaires and semi structured interviews were quantitatively analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, while the more qualitative information that was gleaned from open-ended questions, semi-structured interviews and documentary sources was analysed thematically. The subject analysis of PubMed/Medline articles was done using the VOSviewer software and Microsoft Excel. The findings reveal that the yearly research output from 1995 to 2015 was 281 scholarly papers in 159 journals. The lowest number of papers published were recorded in 1997, 2000, and 2004 while the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 show the highest number of papers per year; and the highest was recorded in 2015. It was found that, except in 1997 and 2000, most of these papers were authored by more than five researchers. This indicates a high degree of collaboration. The journals in which the academic staff were publishing in emanated from all over the world; Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. The journals themselves are also a combination of both high impact factor journals such as the PLoS One, American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, The Lancet, Malaria Journal and those with no impact factor like the Medical Journal of Zambia. The results indicate that the respondents mostly investigated and published in subject fields related to diseases most prevalent in Zambia, i.e. HIV and Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis. In addition, the findings indicate that the majority of the academic staff were born after 1960 (73%), with high digital information retrieval skills (95.2%), and with their research output published mainly in journals. The knowledge was produced for various reasons: 85.4% for research purposes, 80.5% for academic promotion, 80.5% for production of knowledge, 73.2% to improve teaching, 61% to provide evidence, 51.2% to change practice, 41.5% to improve policy, 41.5% for personal advancement, and 24.4% for research funding. The knowledge was produced ethically, advancing scholarship, and deemed to be beneficial to society. The overall conclusion drawn from the study is that the knowledge productivity of the School of Medicine has steadily increased over the years and that this is supported by various institutional policies. Additionally, there is increased collaboration with persons outside the continent, whilst there is less collaboration with countries in Africa. The key recommendation for the School of Medicine is that it should work with and within the various layers of the university's institutions such as the Library, Directorate of Research and Graduate Studies, University of Zambia Press, and the Centre for Information and Communication Technology. This would ensure that impediments to knowledge production, diffusion and utilisation are mitigated.
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    Open Access
    Library and Information Services (LIS) in astronomical research: an analysis of the contribution of LIS to the historical development of astronomy at the South African Astronomical Observatory
    (2021) De Young, Theresa; Raju, Jaya
    The objective of the study was to undertake a historical analysis of the contribution of library and information services (LIS) to the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in the context of the historical development of astronomy in South Africa. Three critical questions guided the study: How has library and information service provision to the SAAO evolved historically in the context of the historical development of astronomy in South Africa?; What is the current status of LIS in astronomical research at the SAAO?; and, What possible new roles could the SAAO Library and its librarians play in an astronomy research facility such as the SAAO to contribute to South African astronomical research? In order to find shared experiences and trends relating to in the field of LIS in astronomical research, data were gathered using semi-structured interviews with purposively selected individuals experienced in the field of astronomical research as well those associated with astronomical LIS; relevant literature sources; primary documents from the SAAO Library archive; and, the researcher's own experiences at the SAAO Library (autoethnography). In adopting a qualitative approach via a phenomenological historical design, the study did not use explicit theory, but anticipated 'theory' in the form of patterns and trends emerging, inductively, at the end of the study out of the data collected. Content analysis together with qualitative research software application, NVivo 12 Pro, were used for analysis and coding of data collected for the study.
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    Open Access
    Library research support for masters and PhD students at the University of Eswatini
    (2020) Dlamini, Khosie Konkhekluhle; Raju, Jayarani; Mfengu, Andiswa
    The changing academic and technological environment coupled with evolving research practices have greatly impacted the role played by academic libraries within the institutions they serve. This has sparked a global concern amongst academic libraries to re-evaluate their services as a means to aligning themselves to this new environment. As a result, academic libraries are transforming themselves and bringing about new services, particularly focussing on how they can enhance research output by providing support to researchers. Given this context, this study seeks to ascertain the extent of research support by University of Eswatini (UNESWA) Libraries for masters and PhD students at UNESWA. To address this objective, the following critical questions were generated: What are the current services being provided by UNESWA Libraries to support masters and PhD students at the University of Eswatini?; What are the library research needs of masters and PhD students at UNESWA?; To what extent are these needs being met by UNESWA Libraries?; and, If there are library research needs of masters and PhD students at UNESWA that are not being met by UNESWA Libraries, what research support services need to be put in place to address this deficiency? Schoombee's (2014) research lifecycle adapted for library research support was used as a supporting theoretical framework to guide the study. The study adopted a convergent parallel mixed methods approach within a pragmatism paradigm and a case study design. Academic staff members and librarians at UNESWA were purposively sampled whilst a census was conducted for all masters and PhD students at UNESWA. Data was collected using a structured paper-based questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and qualitative data was analysed thematically (by content analysis). The study concludes, inter alia, that despite the various library research support services provided by UNESWA Libraries for masters and PhD students, an expanded suite of research support services to more fully meet UNESWA's masters and PhD students' library research needs, is required. The study recommends that UNESWA Libraries should utilise available technologies and incorporate additional research support services that speak to the research needs of digital age masters and PhD students.
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    Open Access
    Metadata creation and management in the preservation of digital information in selected libraries in Cape Town
    (2024) Maruping, Lordwick; Shongwe , Mzwandile
    Metadata describes and organizes resources in the digital environment for users to discover. Metadata plays an integral part in the digital preservation of information resources even though inadequacies exist in its creation and management. Challenges that affect creation and management of metadata are metadata quality, which results from not applying metadata standards, and non-specialists creating metadata. The aim of study was to investigate how metadata is created and managed and the role it plays in the digital preservation of resources in selected libraries in Cape Town. The study was guided by the following research objectives: to determine how metadata is created and managed in the digital environment in selected libraries in Cape Town; to determine how metadata is managed in the digital environment in selected libraries in Cape Town; and to determine the principles and standards adopted in the creation and management of metadata in selected libraries in Cape Town. A qualitative approach and a comparative case study design was adopted. Qualitative data was collected from a sample drawn using purposive sampling from the target population of seven metadata librarians in selected libraries in Cape Town. Qualitative data were collected from seven metadata librarians through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Documents that were analyzed are cataloguing manual, RDA cataloguing standards, cataloguing guidelines, and OCLC guidelines in selected libraries in Cape Town. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The study used themes such as demographic information, metadata creation, metadata for digital preservation, metadata standards, metadata management and metadata challenges in digital preservation. The findings of the study revealed that metadata librarians adhere to international standards and tools as AACR2, DDC, LCSH, Dublin Core, RDA and other standards for metadata creation and management of digital resources. The findings established that digital objects should have a unique identity number to manage the content on the digital resources. It was also found that metadata elements that are mainly created and managed in libraries are ISBN, author, title, publication information, pagination, subject headings, summary, and shelf number (call number). Challenges in the creation and management of metadata identified included the lack of security in library systems, lack ICT skills among librarians, and the lack of information on resources to catalogue. The overall findings revealed that metadata librarians performed descriptive metadata only in libraries. It also revealed that authority control is one of the most important management functions of metadata to ensure the effective accessibility of records. Descriptive metadata is for printed books, e-books, maps, art, journals, theses and dissertations, digital objects, and audio-visual materials such as CDs and DVDs for display and discovery by their users. The conclusion drawn from this finding is that metadata librarians create and manage descriptive metadata and that libraries follow international standards and use internationally recognized tools when creating digital records. The study recommends that metadata librarians should be involved at all levels in the development of a new library management system (LMS). This will ensure that the lack of security in the library system should be overcome. The study also recommended that metadata librarians should get training on ICT skills that affect metadata creation and management through LIS school.
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    Open Access
    Open science as public good: ISC’s perspective
    (UCT Libraries, 2024) Sud, Megha
    The presentation focuses on the International Science Council (ISC) in advancing science as a global public good, while also serving as the global voice for science.
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    Restricted
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    Open Access
    Perceptions and experiences of selected participants engaging with a digitally curated environmental Outsider Art collection
    (2017) Schäfer, Sarah; Higgs, Richard
    This study uses the Owl House in Nieu Bethesda as an exemplar for interrogating the possibilities of digital curation in South Africa. It draws on a conceptual framework encompassing the digital humanities, museology, Baudrillard's notion of simulation, as well as contemporary research and similar studies. Digital curation of a Visionary Environment, which falls into the ambit of Outsider Art, is a largely unprecedented practice, especially in the context of South Africa. This qualitative study is situated in a social constructivist paradigm and uses elements of a phenomenological approach. As an instance of qualitative research, at the heart of this study is an emphasis on understanding how people construct their realities and interpret their experiences. Interpreting and viewing digital artefacts outside of a museum are not the same as viewing them in real life. This inevitably changes the way that someone experiences and interprets a collection. The challenge of digitising a museum is thus to understand what this transformation process (physical to digital) does to the integrity of the original collection. Digitisation within museums offers so many possibilities, especially in the context of sitespecific museums that are largely inaccessible like the Owl House. A digitally curated collection of high quality digital media can allow for a museum like the Owl House to be visited digitally, and moreover, that visitors can interpret a museum experience that is rich and layered. The data for this study was collected from interviews with participants who engaged with a digitised sub-collection of the Owl House - The Long Bedroom Collection, and after an initial presentation and analysis of the data, emerging themes were discussed
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    Open Access
    Positioning open access in a transformative paradigm
    (UCT Libraries, 2019) Nyahodza, Lena
    This paper positions open access in a transformative worldview, advocating for the democratisation of scholarly communication processes to support equitable dissemination of and access to knowledge. The traditional scholarly communication (publishing) model demands the signing away of copyright, which makes publishers own research and demand subscription fees from readers to access research publications. This alienates knowledge from users as they are required to pay unaffordable fees to be able to access knowledge, which excludes readers from low-income countries, thus compromising their use of knowledge for community development. The exclusion of readers who cannot afford subscriptions indicate some form of capitalism in the form of knowledge commodification; and, open access challenges such dominant experiences by promoting access for all. Therefore, open access plays a democratic role that have great potential to support social justice agenda. All aspects of critical theory reflect in both closed publishing and open access publishing, with closed publishing model alienating readers and open access publishing creating opportunities for transformation and social justice by opening up knowledge for readers that cannot afford journal subscription fees.
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    Open Access
    Research assessment: barriers to diamond open access
    (UCT Libraries, 2025) Koley, Moumita
    Output-driven research assessment and university rankings, research priorities influence by publishing practices, quality and visibility, awareness.
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    Open Access
    Research impact assessment in Africa and the evolving role of academic libraries
    (2022-12-30) Mfengu, Andiswa; Raju, Jaya
    Information technology has influenced scholarly communication and how higher education institutions assess research impact. This has extended the role that the academic library plays in supporting researchers in the research life cycle. These global trends have impacted academic libraries in Africa too, albeit to different extents. This paper reports from the literature and empirical findings of a single aspect of a wider study on research impact assessment that enquired into best practices for assessing research impact in higher education institutions in Africa and the evolving role of academic libraries in support of research impact assessment. The paper draws from a qualitative aspect of the wider mixed-methods study informed by research impact theory, and specifically findings from semistructured interviews with relevant stakeholders such as academic librarians, university research office personnel, and African research council managers. The paper concludes that librarians traditionally have been well placed to play a pivotal role in research impact assessment due to their professional competencies. Academic libraries will continue to evolve and in doing so play a significant role in the research life cycle of higher education knowledge systems. African academic libraries need to contextualize research impact assessment such that it speaks to the research needs of African contexts.