Increasing the Visibility of Published Research: African Journals OnLine

The rise of the internet has increased expectations about how research information can and should be disseminated globally, and this change has had an impact on journals published within Africa—journals that have previously been unable to take advantage of this medium. This article investigates the current visibility of African journals in the international research community and discusses initiatives that have been developed to help researchers gain access to information and make their own published information visible to the world. It shows that the African Journals OnLine (AJOL) service has provided a valuable window for these publications, and offers many lessons about the challenges encountered by journals and what support is required to build capacity and sustainability.