Access to e-journals and e-publishing initiatives in Ghana: successes, challenges and lessons learnt

Abstract

Electronic journals and electronic publishing are new ways of gaining quick access to a great number of research information and disseminating globally, research information easily and quickly respectively. Their positive properties far out weigh the negatives as far as research and its output for development are concerned. Peer- reviewed Open Access journals have even made e-journals and e-publishing the choice of many researchers because of its options of cost effectiveness and great visibility of authors. The paper shares experiences in efforts made to gain access to e-journals for research and academic use in Ghana. Projects like INASP’s PERI that offered access to some e-journals at no cost to Ghana for two years but now are being paid for, AGORA, HINARI, OARE, eIFL.net and JSTOR which make a great number of e-journals available to developing countries including Ghana, are presented. The various e-publishing initiatives introduced to researchers and editors of scholarly journals in Ghana and whether there is adequate training and infrastructure to handle these initiatives as well as the availability of such e-publishing concerns are discussed. The activities of the Ghana Library Consortium (CARLIGH) to further these causes are featured. Challenges faced and how they were surmounted in the process of making relevant e-journals available to the research and academic community as well as using e- publishing methods for the wide dissemination of Ghanaian research results are presented to serve as lessons for individuals and institutions thinking of gaining access to e-journals or embarking on epublishing.