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Examines the major problems associated with managing a library automation project in a developing country. The Moi University experience is representative of the type of problems that a library project manager in a developing country is likely to face. Poor infrastructure, a shortage of local technical expertise, lack of information technology and a shortage of qualified managers are some of the managerial hurdles that they should be able to cope with. Training local personnel and equipping the training institutions may partly solve some of the problems. Management and information technology skills should be emphasised in whatever training programmes may be initiated in a bid to overcome the shortages.

Examines the training needs of practising professional librarians in the Kenyan public university libraries. There is a general, but false assumption, in this sector that professional librarians who have attained the minimum professional qualifications need no further training on the job. Many changes have taken place and many more are likely to occur, which are likely to affect the working environment of librarians. Librarians must be trained in preparation for managing such changes. Suggestions for sources of funding are given. The specific training needs of practising librarians are described.

Knowledge‐based societies have come to be identified with the advanced economies. Knowledge is now looked on as a new source of competitive advantage. Those economies where knowledge is created and used in large quantities may be said to enjoy a competitive advantage over those that do not create and use knowledge in large quantities. Sub‐Saharan Africa is one region which needs to have access to global knowledge for its economic development. However, there are several impediments to promoting access to global knowledge in sub‐Saharan Africa. The impediments are identified in the study and solutions to the impediments proposed. Research methods used are highlighted.

The purpose of this study is to know the various factors librarians consider while selecting open access (OA) journal for publication, and to know the challenges librarians face with OA journal publishing.

Online questionnaire was designed to collect data using SurveyMonkey software from 335 academic librarians in 57 institutions (Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education) in Nigeria.

The findings of the study revealed that majority of the academic librarians are aware of the gold and green publishing routes, while the majority of academic librarians are not aware of the diamond publishing route. The study also revealed that when considering where to publish, reputation and impact factor of journal were rated as very important among the factors that inform their choice of OA. The study further revealed that academic librarians have little or no knowledge about the existence of institutional repositories in their institutions, and only a few actual use institutional repositories and ResearchGate to self-archive their publications. The majority of the academic librarians agreed that author fees (Article Processing Charges) and low impact factor of journal are barriers to publishing in OA journals. Training on OA publishing is recommended for librarians to increase their knowledge and confidence to discuss OA with faculty members in future.

Knowledge of authors’ attitude toward OA publishing models will help OA advocates focus on the factors that are meaningful that are raised in this study.

The study is an original research work that investigated academic librarians’ perception and engagement with OA publishing as they lead the OA campaign in their institutions.