Stellenbosch University’s AOARI platforms : opening access to African scholarly content

Date
2013-06
Authors
Raju, R.
Smith, Ina
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Academy of Sciences
Abstract
In the current knowledge economy, Africa is relegated to the periphery of knowledge production as it is considered to be more of a ‘consumer’ of the world’s knowledge as opposed to a ‘producer’. There is sufficient evidence to show that a significant factor contributing to this low research output is limited access to scholarly content to support research. An influential element to this limited access is the exorbitant cost of information. Exacerbating this status is that research conducted by Africans is not easily accessible to the international audience, as the dissemination of African research content is severely prejudiced by the propensity of international publishers to focus on output from the north which generates larger profit margins. This prejudice relegates Africa further into the status of being a silent and invisible contributor to research production.
Description
The original publication is available at http://www.aasciences.org
Keywords
Open access, African Open Access Repository Initiative (AOARI), Open Access Repository, Institutional repository
Citation
Raju, R. & Smith, I. 2013. Stellenbosch University’s AOARI Platforms: Opening Access to African Scholarly Content. Whydah, 17(2):6.