Open Access News

News from the open access movement


Friday, May 19, 2006

SPARC and Bioline working together on OA

SPARC has announced a partnership with Bioline International. Excerpt:

SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) today announced a partnership with Bioline International, an online publishing service that provides open access to peer-reviewed research journals published in developing countries.

Founded in 1993, Bioline helps journals from developing countries reap the benefits of open access. By providing a platform for the free and open distribution of these scientific publications, otherwise largely invisible to the international scientific community, Bioline seeks to fulfill the promise of open access publishing.  Evidence is mounting that Bioline’s efforts are bearing fruit. The use of publications on Bioline’s platform has increased dramatically over the past several years, with downloads of articles from the service’s 50-plus journals now averaging in excess of 200,000 per month. Bioline studies suggest that increased awareness and usage translate into improved journal quality by inspiring higher submission rates - especially from international authors - and improved citation rates.

”We see the advent of open access to research information as a huge boost in strengthening science in less developed nations,” said Leslie Chan, Associate Director of Bioline. “Without international visibility, researchers in poorer nations will remain isolated, partnerships with not be formed, and the knowledge generated in these regions will remain unrecognized.”