CREATING A STAFF PUBLICATION DATABASE

The Special Collection Librarian, Mrs Nancy Mpekansambo, explains that this process has a number of advantages for all users of the library. “People will be able to access this information and know what staff in different departments have published.  This could make collaboration opportunities easier. Additionally, this database will give a general idea of how the entire college is faring in terms of publication, and also motivate others to research and publish. It will highlight the research that is being done throughout the college, including the research done by librarians.”

However, according to Mpekansambo, the response from staff has been rather poor, with some being suspicious of the library’s motivations.

“For some reason, people hesitate to give us details of their publications. We just require publication details, not necessarily the actual papers. This is basically for their own good, to publicise their work, and to motivate students to pursue similar paths of research.”

For the sake of record keeping, Chancellor College staff are supposed to submit copies of their Masters and PhD theses to the Special Collection section. The library accepts submissions as hard copies as well as in pdf format. This way, the scholarly output of the college is located in one place, and is thus easily preserved and accessed by the public.