<b>Predatory journals and the quality of open access scholarly publishing among library and information science lecturers in Kwara State, Nigeria</b><b></b>

The study examines the impact of predatory journals on the quality and credibility of open-access scholarly publishing among LIS lecturers in Kwara State. The study adopted a survey method and convenience sampling to recruit 50 LIS lecturers from library schools in Kwara State. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and presented in a table. The findings revealed that 86% of the respondents were aware of predatory journals, and 64% had received invitations from predatory publishers across the world. The study further identified key factors, including fear of rejection (x̄=3.72), pressure to publish (x̄=3.68), and limited awareness of publication standards (x̄=3.54), as contributing to predatory journal publishing among LIS lecturers in Kwara State. The study concluded that LIS lecturers believed that publishing in predatory journals could harm their institution’s reputation; therefore, they demonstrated a fair understanding of predatory journals. It was recommended that library schools and institutions should conduct awareness campaigns, incorporate publication ethics into curricula and that professional bodies should establish guidelines to differentiate legitimate open-access journals from predatory ones.