Scholarly publishing services in university libraries in Malawi

Abstract

The changing methods and modes of communication due to technological developments in the 21st century are consequently influencing academic libraries to adapt new services. Lately, academic libraries have been providing scholarly publishing services to researchers. Library publishing has a long history in the research lifecycle having long supported learned societies by purchasing their journals and other materials. However, academic libraries are challenged with high costs and use constraints imposed by commercial publishers and scholars in return are faced with unmet publishing needs. In examining potential solutions, this study has discovered areas where academic libraries can make advances in scholarly publishing. Academic libraries have been providing scholarly publishing services to researchers. There are known to contribute to research development and innovation in response to the Malawi vision 2063 agenda, the National Education Sector Investment Plan 2020 – 2030 and the 2030 sustainable development goals.

The study examined the scholarly publishing services at four university libraries in Malawi namely, Mzuzu University, University of Malawi, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences and Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences. The study focused on the scholarly publishing services offered by the university libraries; strategies in promoting scholarly publishing; competences of library staff in scholarly publishing; and the factors affecting university libraries in scholarly publishing.

The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. The study was underpinned by the pragmatic paradigm and guided by the Scientific Communications Lifecycle Model. Questionnaires were administered to 24 senior library staff and interviews were conducted with nine senior librarians. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and thematic analysis for quantitative and qualitative data respectively. According to the study findings, all four university libraries provide various scholarly publishing services including institutional repositories; citation management; information organisation; research clinics and promotion; and digitisation. The university libraries publish some scholarly works mostly through institutional repositories with electronic theses and dissertations and conference papers and proceedings as the predominant scholarly works in all the universities. This study also established that library staff at all the four libraries have expert knowledge in a number of scholarly publishing services including information organisation; digitisation; repository services; citation management; and plagiarism check. This study revealed some factors that affect scholarly publishing in the university libraries such as lack of funding; lack of technological infrastructure; lack of faculty compliance from the academics and researchers; and lack of technical support from the mother institutions.

Considering that universities in Malawi have some capacity to establish and run scholarly publishing services in their libraries, the study concludes that scholarly publishing service is slowly but surely being embraced by academic libraries in Malawi and the service will eventually become one of the core services of these academic libraries. Considering that libraries lack infrastructures resulting from financial challenges, the study recommends that university administrators should recognise the potential of libraries in scholarly publishing and provide adequate support towards capacitating infrastructure and other requirements.