National Academy of Sciences & Free Access to Developing Nations

[Liblicense-L Listowner <liblicen@pantheon.yale.edu>]

NOTE:  this appears to represent a change in NAS reports policy, as
initially all reports were available online for free to all readers.  It
seems that is no longer the case, but free access to emerging nations
continues, which is a Good Thing.

****

Date: April 5, 2004
Contacts: Vanee Vines, Media Relations Officer
Heather McDonald, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail <news@nas.edu>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The National Academies Provide Free Scientific Information to Developing
Nations

WASHINGTON The National Academies now offer free online access in more
than 100 developing countries to the reports of the Academies, as well as
to journal articles from the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences (PNAS). The goal is to help developing countries tackle
challenges such as disease, hunger, and economic transition with enhanced
scientific knowledge.

"Elevating global science and technology capacity is critical because of a
growing gap between industrialized nations and the developing world in the
formation and use of new technologies," said Bruce Alberts, president of
the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. "As industrialized nations with
financial resources and a trained scientific work force exploit new
knowledge and technologies more intensively, developing countries that lag
in S&T capacity fall further and further behind."

This National Academies initiative stems from heightened interest among
scientists around the world in the institution's work and in scientific
and technical information in general. The U.S. National Academy of
Sciences is a member of the InterAcademy Panel (IAP), a worldwide network
of 90 science academies that counsel governments and everyday citizens on
major global issues such as sustainable development and infectious
disease. The IAP has identified equitable access to scientific information
and bridging the "digital divide" as major priorities. And it designated
April as the time to begin setting and implementing national science
agendas that were recommended in a major report issued by the IAP's
InterAcademy Council in February at the United Nations. The report,
Inventing a Better Future: A Strategy for Building Worldwide Capacities in
Science and Technology, is available online at
<http://www.interacademycouncil.net/streport>.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is a multidisciplinary
journal that covers the biological, physical, and social sciences. It is
printed weekly and publishes new content online each business day. Ranked
by the Institute for Scientific Information as one of the world's
most-cited scientific serials, PNAS Online receives more than 1 million
hits each week. Since January 2002, PNAS has offered developing countries
free online access to the research articles, commentaries, and reviews
published in the journal, which are now available free of charge in more
than 130 countries, listed at
<http://www.pnas.org/misc/faq.shtml#developing>. This access allows
international scholars and others to benefit from this scientific
information immediately.

The National Academies Press (NAP) now allows readers in most developing
countries to obtain Academies reports free from the NAP Web site in
portable document format (PDF). Eligible nations are listed at
<http://www.nap.edu/info/faq dc pdf.html>. In the first two months of this
year, NAP gave away 15,600 books and 6,500 individual chapters to people
in these nations. In addition, NAP's site will soon feature special
"subject portals" on topics such as drought and water sciences, which are
of particular interest in the developing world.

Goverdhan Mehta -- co-chair of the InterAcademy Council, president-elect
of the International Council for Science, and former president of the
Indian National Science Academy -- considers the National Academies'
outreach efforts to be invaluable. "Developing nations in particular
cannot afford to be without access to credible, independent scientific and
technological information," he said.

The National Academies are private, nonprofit institutions that provide
science, technology, and health policy advice under a congressional
charter.

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