A TETFUND INTERVENTION PROJECT ON DIGITIZATION OF THESES AND DISSERTATIONS IN UNIVERSITY OF JOS LIBRARY: TOWARDS POPULATING AN INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORY

Abstract

Global adoption and usage of Information and Communication Technologies in every sphere of human lives have revolutionized the way daily activities are carried out. Among its various innovations is digitization and institutional repositories (IR). This study sets out to discuss staff experiences of digitization at the University of Jos Library; with a view to finding the nexus between the digitization project and University of Jos Institutional Repository. Qualitative research design was selected as the study design, and interview and participant observation were used to obtain the required data. Through interview with two past heads of Documents and Special Collections Sections of the Library, information about past digitization activities in the Section were obtained. Also, through interview with the
University Librarian, the aim of the digitization project (as spelt out by TETFund) was obtained. As revealed in the interview, the aim is to collate in one location, the University's theses and dissertations in order to provide a wider accessibility to users. From the interview, it was revealed that due to copyright issues, only the abstracts of the digitized theses and dissertations are being uploaded into the IR for accessibility by users. Through participant observation the equipment being used for the project and the procedure involved were revealed. Also, the challenges being encountered by staff during the digitization were revealed, to include network and ergonomics issues, as well as inconsistency in the
submission of softcopies of theses and dissertations by the students. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others, that a link should be provided by the Library on its website for the uploading of students completed theses or dissertations by their supervisors and permission to upload full texts of theses and dissertations of postgraduates should be sought by the postgraduate school.