Developing Nations Initiatives

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

- - PRESS RELEASE - -
September 4th 2001
For immediate release

Opening Access to Research in Africa

We are delighted to announce a major step forward in ongoing efforts to
open access to current primary research literature in the developing
world.

Blackwell Publishing, working closely with 500 learned societies and the
International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications
(INASP), will provide reduced rate online access to 600 leading
peer-reviewed journals in, initially, six countries in sub-Saharan Africa.  
The funding is provided by partnerships between INASP, development
programmes such as ENRECA (Danida) and Sida:SAREC and the universities, so
that access to the journal content is free for the participating libraries
and researchers.

Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda will all benefit in
the first instance.  Researchers, students, lecturers, librarians and
medical professionals within non-commercial organizations in these
countries will have online access to Blackwell Publishing's journals.  
Many of these are published on behalf of scholarly societies and include
key titles in medicine, science, technology, social science and the
humanities.

This initiative recognises the vital role that information and knowledge
play in development.  Individuals will be able to read and contribute to
the advancement of research and use the knowledge gained to find local
solutions to health, housing, education and employment issues.

As Bob Campbell, President of Blackwell Publishing has said, "We hope that
researchers and professionals within these African nations will truly
benefit from access to the papers within the journals we publish.  In many
cases these journals are published on behalf of societies; we should also
acknowledge their support of this initiative.  We're delighted to be
working with INASP on this and look forward to expanding journal
readership in the region in the near future."

This marks the completion of the first phase of the Programme for the
Enhancement of Research Information (PERI), a four-component programme
coordinated by INASP aimed at supporting production, access and
dissemination of international and national and regional research within
and between developing and transitional countries.  More information can
be found at www.inasp.org.uk

For more information, contact:

Emily Gillingham 			Email: emily.gillingham@blacksci.co.uk
Online Journals Marketing Manager 	Tel: +44 (0) 1865 206410
Blackwell Publishing			Fax: +44 (0) 1865 206219
Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 0EL, UK		Web: www.blackwell-synergy.com

__________________________________

Obianuju Mollel 			tel: (203) 737-1537		
Reference Librarian 			fax: (203) 785-4369
Cushing/Whitney Medical Library	mailto:obianuju.mollel@yale.edu
Yale University			
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