Full access to online journals and databases in Africa

Citation

(2002), "Full access to online journals and databases in Africa", Interlending & Document Supply, Vol. 30 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ilds.2002.12230aab.005

Full access to online journals and databases in Africa

Full access to online journals and databases in AfricaKeywords: Developing countries, Electronic publishing

The International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) recently announced the completion of the first phase of the Programme for the Enhancement of Research Information (PERI). This is an important programme aimed at the wider access and dissemination of scientific and scholarly information and knowledge with and between developing and transitional countries.

Researchers, academics, librarians and those working in the professions in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda are now invited to access current awareness databases, full-text online journals and document delivery at no cost to themselves. This recognises the vital role that information can play in development.

To ensure efficient and effective implementation of the programme, the country-wide access licences will be extended in a staged manner. In the first instance, members of universities and research institutions in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda can forward their names, affiliations and full contact details to INASP in exchange for full details about accessing the content. This offer was later extended to Malawi and Mozambique and to a wider range of countries in Africa, Asia and Central America by the end of 2001.

Since September 2000, INASP has been successfully negotiating for the provision of information resources to areas that most need them, yet can least afford them.

Developed in collaboration with researchers and librarians in the regions, and with the support of development programmes such as ENRECA (Danida) and Sida:

SAREC, the programme presently provides access to over 5,000 full-text journals in science, technology, medicine, social science and the humanities from Academic Press, Blackwell Science, Blackwell Publishers, EBSCO Publishing, Mary Ann Liebert and Munksgaard; databases from SilverPlatter and document delivery through the British Library.

In addition to the provision of international publications, PERI also works to strengthen and disseminate journals that come out of developing countries, in the first instance through subscriptions to, and document delivery from, scholarly journals published in Africa. Other PERI components respond to training needs, both for librarians and researchers on the most effective ways of using the Internet; and for journal editors and publishers, so that they can upgrade their skills and also explore the options available to them in online publishing.

For more information, contact Carol Priestley, Director, INASP, at inasp@gn.apc.org or visit the Web site at http://www.inasp.org.uk/peri/

Source: Carol Priestley