Impact of Open Science on Academic Libraries of Educational Institutions in Rivers State

The study examined the impact of Open Science on academic libraries of educational institutions in Rivers State. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design and was guided by three objectives, three research questions and three hypotheses. The sample size of the study was one hundred and five (105) librarians comprising of all librarians (practising & teaching staff) working in five (5) academic institutions in Rivers State, Nigeria. A questionnaire and interview guide were used to gather data. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of arithmetic mean (X) and standard deviation (SD) while the Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings show that respondents accepted that Open Science promotes transparency in experimental methodology, observation, and collection of data (x̄3.64 & ±.912). It enhances public availability, reproduction and reusability of scientific data (x̄3.92 & ±.981); Open Access Journals give permission to users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of journal articles without financial, legal, or technical barriers (x̄3.92 & ±.991). The study recommended that there should be an increase in acceptance and use of open sciences and open access resources in academic libraries.