Other Projects and Initiatives
Research4Life
TEEAL is a companion to the umbrella program Research4Life (R4L). R4L encompasses three sister programs, all of which deliver journal content online, over the Internet. These programs are:
- AGORA (Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture), is a sister portal led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and went live in October 2003.
- HINARI (Health Internetwork Initiative), launched in 2002 under the leadership of World Health Organization (WHO), provides free or low-cost access to journals and key databases in health, medicine, and related biosciences.
- OARE (Online Access to Research on the Environment), focuses on the environment and was developed under the leadership of United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). It was launched October 2006.
Collectively, these programs make available to 114 low-income countries around the world for free or at very low-cost ($1000/yr) about 4500 journal titles. This collection includes approximately 75% of the world's most influential and widely cited scientific publications, representing the intellectual foundation of the global health, agricultural and environmental science communities.
TEEAL and Mann Library were involved in the development of AGORA and currently help coordinate the program. Staff at ITOCA (Information Training and Outreach Centre for Africa), formerly the TEEAL Africa office, conduct AGORA outreach and training workshops in Africa.
TEEAL and AGORA complement each other. Many journals on AGORA start with 1997, whereas TEEAL content begins with 1993. While AGORA offers more journals, some of TEEAL's journals, particularly the small society journals, are not yet available through AGORA. TEEAL is also an important solution for those institutions that need improved access to current journals but do not yet have Internet access or adequate bandwidth to take full advantage of AGORA. The below chart compares the TEEAL and AGORA programs.
| AGORA | LanTEEAL 2.0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-text articles | Yes | Yes |
| # Journals | 1122 | 130 |
| # Publishers | 43 | 60 |
| Coverage (years) | ~1997-current | 1993-2007 (annually updated) |
| Cost (USD$) | Free or small fee | 1000 (per update) 7500 (full set) |
| Internet required | Yes | No |
| Format | Internet portal | Local Area Network (LAN) |
PERI & AJOL by INASP
PERI (Programme for the Enhancement of Research Information) is a programme to support capacity building in the research sector in developing and transitional countries by strengthening the production, access and dissemination of information and knowledge. A research community identifies required resources, and INASP (International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications) negotiates affordable, sustainable access licences.
AJOL (African Journals Online) is a database of African-published journals in a range of disciplines. It is a service to provide access to African-published research, and increase worldwide knowledge of indigenous scholarship. There are now 226 journals available through AJOL.
INASP, The International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications, is an organization dedicated to improving access to scientific literature and increased communication and cooperation between institutions and scientific knowledge networks.
SIDALC
SIDALC (Sistema de Información y Documentación Agropecuario de las Américas) is a network of agricultural information resources. SIDALC provides links to various databases for agricultural research, to online journals, and to important information systems in other countries. SIDALC also houses documents, and its powerful search engine, Agri2000, links multiple databases and library catalogues from institutions all over the Americas. SIDALC is a wide-reaching, valuable service designed to faciliate access to information and to increase awareness of the importance of information access.
Social Science Library
The Social Science Library is a free collection of 1300 major social science texts and articles. Disciplines covered by the SSL include anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, social psychology, sociology, and political science. The library is available on a single CD-ROM, and can be either installed on a computer or run directly from the CD. The software is easy to use.
The SSL is a project created by the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University, in partnership with Winrock International, and the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
Directory of Open Access Journals
DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) is a directory of free, open-access scientific and scholarly journals in all fields of study. The DOAJ aims to include as many open-access journals as possible to allow everyone access to scholarly information. Users can register for free to use the site.
Yale University's programs list
Yale University Library provides a comprehensive list, "Developing Nations Initiatives," which tracks programs designated to bring high quality, peer-reviewed sciences journals for free or low cost to developing nations. The site offers a small description of the programs and links.