The development of institutional repositories in East Africa countries: A comparative analysis of Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.

This paper aims at examining the growth of IR in the East African region (Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda) from 2010-2020. This study adopted a content analysis methodology. Data for this study was extracted from OpenDOAR (Directory of Open Access Repository), ROAR (Registry of Open Access Repository) and repository websites to identify the language used, subject covered, software used and types of content that are found in East African repositories. The findings of this study reveal that East African region has a total number of 66 repositories, which are registered in OpenDOAR. Kenya is a leading country in the region by having 42 repositories, followed by Tanzania with 14 repositories and Uganda with 10 repositories. The findings show that there is an increase in number of repositories in the region from 4 in 2010 to 66 in 2020. However, the growth is low compared to other parts of the world particularly, Europe, Asia, and America. The study shows the need for librarians, researchers, stakeholders, and East African governments to come together to address the challenges that hinder the growth of repositories in the region. Likewise, mandate policy formulation, training, financial support, OA awareness and technical support are needed in order to overcome those challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]