AP/Harcourt's Third World Model

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

Frans Lettenstrom <frans_lettenstrom@harcourt.com> of Harcourt/AP sends
the following most interesting message to readers of liblicense-l.

_____

THE IDEAL� CHARTER FOR LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES HELPS RESEARCHERS CROSS THE
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Through Reduced-Rate Access to Scientific, Technical and Medical Journals

San Diego, February 19, 2001 - Universities, research centers and teaching
hospitals located in low-income countries can now gain reduced-rate access
to IDEAL, the pioneering online resource library for researchers in
science, technology and medicine.

The IDEAL Charter for Low-Income Countries, a new licensing model, offers
specially priced access to IDEAL for institutions located in countries
with severely limited resources. As Internet connectivity becomes more
widespread, the availability of IDEAL through this new licensing model
will contribute to development of many institutions in eligible countries
worldwide.

The IDEAL Charter offers reduced-rate access to countries conforming to
the World Bank's definition of low-income countries, i.e. those with a
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of $760 (USD) or less. This group
includes sub-Saharan African countries, as well as ones in Central America
and Central and Southeast Asia.

Today, in Paris, France, at the ICSU-UNESCO Conference on Electronic
Publishing in Science, Academic Press President Dr. Pieter Bolman
delivered a talk on the new economics of the electronic publishing of
scientific journals. As part of his talk, Dr. Bolman announced the launch
of the IDEAL Charter for Low-Income Countries.

According to Dr. Bolman, "Developments in information technology continue
to have a profound effect on production and distribution of scientific,
technical and medical journals. The transition to electronic publishing of
these journals has actually just begun and, contrary to popular belief,
has not and will not come cheaply. However, while we in publishing
continue to adjust to the ongoing transition period in which STM journals
are moving rapidly online, we want to step forward and assist researchers
in countries less fortunate than ours.

"Thus, I am delighted to announce the creation of the IDEAL Charter, which
will dramatically improve access in low-income countries to our journals.
This initiative strongly carries forward our enduring goal - to take
high-quality research findings to the largest possible audience. The IDEAL
Charter will deliver value far beyond the investment put into it, and
though the charter is but a small step towards eliminating the digital
divide, we at Academic Press and Harcourt are proud of this initiative and
invite participation in it."

Dr. Einar Eriksen, with the Yekatit 12 Hospital Burn Unit in Ethiopia,
stated: "As a plastic surgeon working in the capital city Addis Ababa, I
mainly deal with burn patients and other individuals in need of
reconstructive surgery. Easy access to medical journals through the
Internet, as proposed by the IDEAL Charter, will be of great
encouragement, motivation and benefit to professionals working in various
health institutions in developing countries. I look forward for this
initiative to be realized."

Today, IDEAL offers 176 currently published Academic Press journals, plus
Harcourt Health Sciences journals from Churchill Livingstone, W.B.
Saunders, Bailli�re Tindall, and Mosby. The IDEAL Charter offers full-text
access to all Harcourt Health Sciences and Academic Press journals, as
well as Academic Press archival backfiles dating back to 1993, on IDEAL.

As part of the launching of the IDEAL Charter for Low-Income Countries,
sponsorships are being sought. Though the charter model comprises
reduced-rate fees, subsidized by Academic Press and Harcourt, some
low-income countries may need further assistance to enable them to take
advantage of the innovative licensing initiative. Philanthropic
organizations and corporations are encouraged to underwrite charter access
to IDEAL for specific countries.

Complete details regarding the IDEAL Charter are available online at
<http://www.academicpress.com/www/ideal/charter.htm>.

IDEAL is licensed in 30 countries by more than 2,000 academic institutions
and industrial and pharmaceutical companies and is accessible to over 10
million authorized users worldwide.

IDEAL now offers nearly 200,000 journal articles and 14,000 journal
issues. During 2001, the number of journals on IDEAL is increasing, as
more peer-reviewed medical journals from Harcourt Health Sciences are
being brought online. This expansion will bring to about 140 the number of
HHS journals on IDEAL.

IDEAL is the online library of the Harcourt Worldwide STM Group. Academic
Press is a Harcourt Science and Technology Company and part of Harcourt's
Worldwide Scientific, Technical and Medical Group. Academic Press is an
international multiple-media publisher of high-quality journals, book
serials, major reference works, databases, textbooks and monographs.

Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Harcourt, Inc., Harcourt General
(NYSE: H) is a leading global multiple-media publisher, providing
educational, training and assessment products and services to classroom,
corporate, professional, research, medical and consumer markets.

IDEAL is a registered trademark of Harcourt, Inc. More information about
IDEAL appears at <http://www.idealibrary.com>.

This news release appears online at: 
<http://www.academicpress.com/www/ideal/pressreleases/charter.htm>.  More
IDEAL news is available online at:
<http://www.academicpress.com/www/ideal/pressreleases/>

--end---