Before and After: OA in Developing Countries

Kirsop, Barbara Before and After: OA in Developing Countries., 2007 . In Berlin 5 Open Access: From practice to impact : Consequences of Knowledge dissemination, Padova (Italy), 19-21 September. (Unpublished) [Presentation]

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English abstract

The relentless rise in the cost of research publications has lead to the increasing isolation of research scientists and other academic communities in the developing world. Furthermore, printing and distribution problems have lead to the invisibility of much of the research publications from less advantaged nations. The effect has been a growing north-south, south-north, and south-south poverty of research information which has had a damaging impact on the progress of research globally. The extent of typical pre-OA deprivation was highlighted in 2003 by a WHO survey of access to peer-reviewed journals by medical institutes in low-income countries. This showed that the institutes in the poorest countries had purchased NO journals in the previous 5 years, and the situation was only marginally better in slightly more economically strong countries. There have been a number of initiatives aimed at improving this unacceptable situation, including donor programmes and exemption from subscriptions for selected countries or reader-communities. However, by far the most encouraging development has been the growth in international acceptance of free and open access to publicly funded research output. The establishment of interoperable institutional repositories (IRs) holding an organisation’s published research, together with the conversion of journals to open access models has been widely welcomed by many organisations in the developing world and is a sustainable solution to access problems. The Electronic Publishing Trust for Development has been advocating this approach and promoting developments regionally. This presentation outlines the overall growth in IRs and the establishment of OA journals in developing regions and presents encouraging usage figures by their research communities, indicating the value of increased access for developing a strong science base. An example is provided by statistics available from Bioline International, a non-profit Canada/Brazil/UK initiative, supporting the OA distribution of journals published in developing regions. OA developments in economically strong countries, both regarding policies and technical infrastructure initiatives, are considered in relation to the needs of the developing regions. To build on current progress, a series of awareness-raising and technology transfer workshops are required, together with the development and acceptance of national and institutional OA policies. Support from major international organisations should be accelerated since if global problems are to be solved, global access to research findings are a prerequisite.

Item type:	Presentation
Keywords:	Bioline International, OA journals in developing countries
Subjects:	B. Information use and sociology of information > BE. Information economics. F. Management. > FG. Local government. B. Information use and sociology of information > BG. Information dissemination and diffusion.
Depositing user:	Users 181 not found.
Date deposited:	12 Dec 2007
Last modified:	02 Oct 2014 12:10
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/10760/10863

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