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The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of ways in which teaching, learning and research can be demystified in higher institutions of learning (HILs). Over the last decade, HILs around the world have faced various transformations to adapt to new opportunities for knowledge dissemination and utilization. Many benefits are gained from implementation of the platform including visibility, status and increased reputation. Despite the high uptake of institutional repositories (IRs) to guide teaching, learning and research of higher institutions learning's digital resources more effectively, little has been written on how IRs can be used for effective teaching, learning and research in higher institutions of learning.

Using analytical method, this paper analysed and presented various thematical issues on IRs in relation to its efficacy, while proposing solutions for its sustainability.

The paper found that most universities have embraced IRs as an option for increasing their visibility, status and researchers' relevance in the knowledge world. It is the conclusion of the study that IRs are currently recognized as an essential infrastructure to respond to the higher institutions of learning challenges in the digital world.

This paper provides higher institutions of learning an opportunity to prepare their IRs to demystify teaching, learning and research. Since IRs will make it possible to access variety of information at any time whenever required.

Knowledge accessibility and utilization bring about social change in the society.

Little has been documented on how IRs can be used for effective teaching, teaching, learning and research in HILs. This paper provides an analysis of ways in which teaching, learning and research can be demystified in these institutions. Thus, it contributes new knowledge on demystifying teaching, learning and research through IRs in HILs.

The author describes the current condition of records management as an emerging professional discipline in Africa, which itself is undergoing extensive economic, political and social changes. He suggests that lack of awareness of records management is widespread in many public and private sector organisations. This manifests itself through inadequate policies, standards and guidelines, as well as inefficiency and lack of management continuity. He argues that each organisation in Africa should integrate their record and information systems, developing records management strategies as well as participating in co‐operative networks to exchange ideas. In Rwanda and Bosnia ethnic killing has so far gone unpunished. But Ethiopia will try ‘Butcher’ Mengistu for his war crimes. Mengistu's totalitarian regime was not alone in perpetrating grotesque abuses of human rights to keep itself in power. But it may be unique in one respect — it kept a detailed record of every abuse. Orders for mass arrests, tortures, even summary executions were all put down on paper and authorised by the people empowered to authorise them. When Mengistu wondered aloud whether no one would rid him of a turbulent priest, there was someone on hand to note it down. Thousands died, more thousands were imprisoned and tortured. The documentation for the killings is voluminous. These records were preserved when the rebel tanks rolled into Addis Ababa, and form the core of what will be the biggest international trial for the crimes against humanity since the Nuremberg trials nearly 50 years ago.

This article looks at the need to manage public sector records as evidence and as a means of controlling how government resources are used, as well as a vital source of information for empowering the people of Africa. The author examines the role of records and of record keeping within the context of three distinct domains – business, accountability and culture – and the contribution of records managers and archivists to the process of democratic governance.

This article aims to examine capacity building requirements for e‐records management in East and Southern Africa. It argues that e‐records management poses a number of problems and challenges that include but are not limited to: lack of skills and competencies, inadequate resources, lack of awareness among government authorities and records professionals, fragility of media and the need for specialized storage. The paper provides the current status of e‐records management in ESARBICA with emphasis on e‐records management capacity building. Last but not least, it proposes a number of strategies and solutions for the management of e‐records in ESARBICA.

This article is based on a literature review in general and desk research based on professional consultation and the experiences of the authors within the region.

Authors' findings indicate that there is a dearth of e‐records management skills and inadequate capacity in the ESARBICA member countries.

The study was limited to ESARBICA member countries, whereas it would have been more inclusive if all the countries of East and Southern Africa were involved. More research is therefore needed to cover the rest of the region.

Effective e‐records management has the potential to improve service delivery and enhance accountability and transparency in government but only if requisite skills needs are met.

This is the first attempt to explore capacity‐building issues in East and Southern Africa in the area of e‐records management. However, it provides a generic model that can be replicated in similar research elsewhere.

The purpose of this paper is to indicate that, with the proliferation of information communication technologies (ICT), electronic records are being generated in many public sector organisations in Africa, which has resulted in many challenges hitherto never experienced by archivists and records managers.

The paper reviews literature on ICT, records management and e‐governance and the challenges faced by archivists and records managers particularly in developing countries as they deal with records generated by ICT.

The paper shows that, while many governments have systems and procedures for managing paper‐based records, the same cannot be said for electronic records and other digital images.

The paper demonstrates that, without proper planning and adoption of various methods, e‐records created using modern ICT are likely to become inaccessible in the future, thus compromising the ability to remain accountable to the citizens.

The paper shows that, while various e‐records readiness tools are available in the West, none of them addresses e‐records readiness issues in Africa where systems and procedures for managing records both paper and electronic are inadequate. The article provides a simple tool for assessing a country's e‐readiness for the adoption of e‐records in an e‐government environment.

The paper reviews literature on the obstacles that hinder the use of information held in archival institutions. First, it highlights the importance of records and archives as sources of information. Second, the paper examines the problems which hinder archival access, mainly focusing on those that are of a professional and technical nature. Third, it presents the components of a good archival programme to enhance the use of archival information. A summary of the key findings is given and the paper concludes by noting that archival institutions need to take certain measures in order to enhance the exploitation of information in their custody.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings of the design and implementation of an online information literacy module to first‐year students at the University of Botswana.

The study population consisted of 103 first‐year students in the Department of Library and Information Studies. The population was divided into three equal groups of 34, 34 and 35, respectively, and each assigned a two‐hour slot in the smart computer laboratory weekly for five consecutive weeks, to cover five information literacy topics online. Each group was assigned a tutor who received assignments online and graded them. Each topic was followed by questions for students to answer.

Findings generally revealed that impartation of information literacy through the online mode could improve students' competencies perhaps more than the face‐to‐face instruction approach. Furthermore, respondents preferred a blended instruction approach to a single learning mode. Contrary to expectations, online instruction might not minimise the copying of each other's work among students to a great extent. Finally, online instruction does not necessarily reduce the amount of workload for staff and students, instead more time is needed to design and administer the course.

The study was limited to first year students in the LIS department. A similar study involving all departments in the University of Botswana would shed more light on the level of information literacy competency among first year students from a cross‐disciplinary perspective.

The major outcome of the study is a re‐usable online information literacy module. The study findings could also be useful in developing interventions to improve the design and delivery of online courses.

Information literacy is a key challenge facing educators all over the world. Case studies such as this provide unique and comparative experiences that advance existing knowledge. For the University of Botswana, the study provides a first insight into the impact of e‐learning on information literacy competency since the implementation WebCT in 2002.