Global Visibility of Open Access Institutional Repositories of SAARC Countries: An Explorative Study

Authors

Madan Singh, Banaras Hindu University, VaranasiFollow
Ramesh Kuri, Assistant Professor, Department of Library & Information Science, Rani Channamma University, Belagavi, KarnatakaFollow
Gireesh Kumar T. K. Dr., Assistant Professor, Department of Library & Information Science, Banaras Hindu University, VaranasiFollow
Kunwar Singh Dr., Assistant Professor, Department of Library & Information Science, Banaras Hindu University, VaranasiFollow

Date of this Version

Winter 10-20-2020

Abstract

The concept of open access extends perceived advantages to its stakeholders, especially in the preservation of scholarly publications through digital repositories. Open Access (OA) improves collaboration among the authors with the support of global networks. There has been remarkable progress worldwide in creating institutional repositories to provide open access to resources. Open access institutional repositories (OAIR) provide a stable platform to showcase an individual's intellectual works without a hitch. This study explores the visibility of open access institutional repositories of SAARC countries that are reflected in the Directory of Open Access Institutional Repository (DOAR). Collected data has been analyzed and represented in tabular and graphical formats to understand the variables' relationship. The authors also assessed the contribution of SAARC countries concerning repository type, disciplines, languages covered, and software used for building them. The study's finding revealed that out of 128 institutional repositories, the highest number of (14.06%) institutional repositories are registered in 2013 and 2019 and belong to the institutional category. DSpace is the software used for creating the majority of the repositories (60.94%), followed by E-Prints (25%). Three-fourths of the repositories are represented in the English language having its contents in journal articles. Among the SAARC countries, India contributes the highest number of institutional repositories (72.66%). The discipline-wise distribution of institutional repositories shows that the majority (18.40%) of the collection is represented under the category Science in general followed by multidisciplinary (15.74%) and technology in general 51 (12.35%) respectively as a concluding remark, authors elucidated the opportunities and threats associated with the development of OAIR to meet the educational requirements of the academic community.