[afro-nets] Press Release - ELIN and INASP initiative

[Pippa Smart <psmart@inasp.info>]

Press Release - ELIN and INASP initiative
-----------------------------------------
 
Please find below a press release about a new joint venture be-
tween Lund University and INASP.
 
Many thanks,
 
Ms Pippa Smart
Head of Publications, Publishing Initiatives and Publishing 
Training
INASP (International Network for the Availability of Scientific 
Publications)
58 St Aldates
Oxford OX1 1ST, UK
Tel: +44-1865-249-909
Fax: +44-1865-251-060
mailto:psmart@inasp.info
http://www.inasp.info
 
SEE OUR AFRICAN JOURNALS ONLINE WEBSITE - access to over 180 
scholarly journals published out of Africa - over 10,000 arti-
cles - http://www.ajol.info
 
 
--
INASP and Lund University Libraries to jointly develop ELIN@ for 
low bandwidth environments
 
The participants in Programme for the Enhancement of Research 
Information (PERI) now have a wide range of resources available 
to them online ­ however finding relevant content remains a 
time-consuming and skilled operation. To maximise the use of 
limited and costly internet connections, and provide an effi-
cient searching mechanism, the International Network for the 
Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) has linked with 
Lund University Libraries, Sweden, to adapt the Electronic Li-
brary Information Navigator (ELIN@) for use by organisations in 
developing countries.
 
ELIN@ provides a technology solution in cooperation with a wide 
range of publishers and information providers, using a single 
interface to search across multiple resources. The resources 
available can be tailored to ensure they comply with the li-
censes and access rights of the organisations.
 
The development of the current ELIN@ application will optimise 
it for (s)lower bandwidth environments. It will be tested in 
several different situations in Africa and Asia. If the pilot 
proves to be successful, an open source version will be made 
available for free downloading and use by libraries in develop-
ing countries.
 
Carol Priestley, Director of INASP, says "Programmes such as AG-
ORA, HINARI and PERI are proving that providing affordable and 
sustainable access to information is possible. However, the 
availability of thousands of journal titles from hundreds of 
publishers has become overwhelming. INASP is delighted to be 
working with ELIN@ in adapting their highly successful model for 
use in areas where the Internet is costly and bandwidth is lim-
ited. ELIN provides a user-friendly interface and offers library 
staff easy administration tools for managing electronic con-
tent."
 
Lars Björnshauge, Director of Libraries at Lund University says 
"We are proud to be able to work with INASP to facilitate easier 
access for institutions located in areas with low bandwidth. The 
mission and services of INASP perfectly fit our commitment to 
develop services for easy end-user access to scientific informa-
tion. We certainly see our partnership with INASP as a promising 
undertaking with long term implications and potential for all 
parties involved".
 
For more information contact Martin Belcher at INASP 
(mbelcher@inasp.info) or Lars Björnshauge at Lund University Li-
braries (lars.bjornshauge@lub.lu.se).
 
Brief information on ELIN@ can be found at: 
http://pluto.lub.lu.se/about/one.html
 
About Lund University Libraries, Head Office
http://www.lub.lu.se/ or http://www.doaj.org/
Lund University Libraries, Head Office (established 2001) is en-
gaged in the development of state-of-the-art digital library 
services, library and information services for the advancement 
of teaching and learning, electronic publishing and scholarly 
communication. Activities include: hosting the Swedish Resource 
Centre for Scientific Communication, a network of Swedish li-
brarians, researchers and decision makers: organising The Nordic 
Conferences on Scholarly Communication: developing the Lund Uni-
versity institutional repository; and developing and hosting 
DOAJ - the Directory of Open Access Journals.
 
About International Network for the Availability of Scientific 
Publications (INASP) http://www.inasp.info
INASP was established in 1992 as a programme of the Interna-
tional Council of Science (ICSU), to enable worldwide access to 
information and knowledge with particular emphasis on the needs 
of developing and transitional countries. INASP works with part-
ners around the world to encourage the creation and production 
of information, to promote sustainable and equitable access to 
information, to foster collaboration and networking, and to 
strengthen local capacities to manage and use information and 
knowledge. Activities include; facilitation; advice and liaison 
services; workshops and other training support; the Programme 
for the Enhancement of Research Information (PERI) providing ac-
cess to global and regional information; publishing; and health 
and rural networking.