I want to start off by saying that as a Library Specialist in Acquisitions I deal primarily with monographs and have very little experience with the selection and management of digital resources. Having said that, I believe that digital resources are of vital importance to all libraries.
When thinking about what I might blog about for this class, I realized that one of the topics that interests me most about digital resources is the cost involved in acquiring them. Cost is always going to be an issue, especially with library budgets being cut due to the current economic situation. Previously, I worked and studied at a small, private four-year college that couldn’t afford very many digital resources and as an avid library user, I was extremely frustrated and disappointed. As I worked on my assignments for various classes (I was a history major), I knew there were valuable resources out there (such as JSTOR) that I wouldn’t be able to utilize.
With this in mind, as I was browsing the LibLicense website, I came across the Developing Nations Initiatives section. According to this website(http://www.library.yale.edu/~llicense/develop.shtml) (the link is also provided on the left side of your screen)- “In the year 2001, a number of organizations began to develop or to publicize programs designated to bring high quality, peer-reviewed sciences journals for free or very cheaply to developing nations.” I was unaware that so many of these types of programs exist and I immediately became interested in learning more about them.
My plan is to research the initiatives of several organizations and then compare them. As I investigate this further, these are the questions that I will answer. I plan to use the same format for each organization which will make it visually easier to locate the information.
What organizations have Developing Nations Initiatives?
Specifically, what type of access is being offered?
What countries is it being offered to?
What criteria are used to determine which countries are eligible?
Is access free or discounted? What is the discount?
How is access provided?
Can the information be accessed in other languages?
What are the goals of these types of initiatives?
Do developing nations possess the necessary technology to access these digital resources? (ie..computers, internet connection)
Is there a measurement that shows how much developing nations access these digital resources?
One other important aspect that I hope to discuss later on is this- as employees of libraries in the United States, how do we feel about having to pay for these digital resources while others are getting access to them for free or at heavily discounted prices?
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Since I work in a Health Science Library I wanted to start off with the only initiative that I was aware of and that some of you might already know about.
HINARI—Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (the information below comes from http://www.who.int/hinari/about/en/)
What organizations have Developing Nations Initiatives?
HINARI was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in conjunction with numerous publishers such as Blackwell and John Wiley.
Specifically, what type of access is being offered?
It provides access to over 6,200 medical and social science journals. The digital resources are offered to national universities, research institutes, professional schools (such as medical and dental), teaching hospitals, government offices, and national medical libraries.
What countries is it being offered to?
The list is available at http://www.who.int/hinari/eligibility/en/index.html . The list is divided into two bands. Band one countries get free access and band two countries pay $1000 per year. Examples from band one include Afghanistan, Kenya, and Vietnam. Examples from band two include Cuba, Iraq, and Peru.
What criteria are used to determine which countries are eligible?
HINARI uses 2006 data from the World Bank.
Is access free or discounted? What is the discount?
If a country’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita is below $1250, then that country is able to have free access. If a country’s GNI per capita is between $1250 and $3500, then that country pays $1000 per year. Even if your country is not on the list of developing nations, there are still many journals that are available for free.
How is access provided?
Institutions must fill out a registration form and then they will receive a license agreement that must be signed.
Can the information be accessed in other languages?
It depends on each individual publication. Overall, there are articles in 22 languages.
What are the goals of these types of initiatives?
The goal is to contribute to the overall improvement of world health.
Do developing nations possess the necessary technology to access these digital resources? (i.e. computers, internet connection)
Institutions must have a computer with internet access that is considered high-speed (56k baud rate or higher).
Is there a measurement that shows how much developing nations access these digital resources?
HINARI has 3500 institutions registered in 108 countries. For a map of registered countries see http://www.who.int/hinari/eligibility/HINARI_map_0808.jpg .
REFERENCES
HINARI: Access to Research. 2009. World Health Organization.
17 June 2009. http://www.who.int/hinari/en/.
LibLicense: Licensing Digital Information. 24 June 2009. Yale University Library.
17 June 2009. http://library.yale.edu/~llicense/index.shtml.
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