Perceptions of academic librarians on research data management practices for promoting open access in South African Universities

The shift from closed scholarship to open science has sparked the importance of Research Data Management (RDM) in supporting Open Access (OA) in academic institutions. While RDM has received significant attention in developed countries, its implementation in many developing contexts, including South African universities, remains uneven despite the existence of institutional policies and open science initiatives. This paper explores the perceptions of academic librarians on RDM practices for promoting OA in South African universities. The study was underpinned by constructs from the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) Lifecycle Model to understand RDM practices. Through an interpretive paradigm, utilising a qualitative research approach purposively selected librarians responsible RDM services provided their perceptions on using RDM as a tool to support OA in their libraries. The findings revealed that academic libraries have implemented RDM practices, including data management plans, metadata creation, repository services, and researcher support initiatives. However, challenges such as policy implementation, inadequate infrastructure, limited funding, insufficient awareness, and lack of training continue to hinder the use of RDM to support OA. The study concludes that although librarians recognise the importance of RDM in advancing OA, institutional support, skills development, and effective implementation strategies are required. The study underscores the need for increased awareness programmes, regular RDM training for librarians, adequate infrastructure, and institutional commitment towards RDM adoption in universities.