Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is pleased to announce the launch of its Digital Library, the first Open Access Institutional Repository established by a Canadian research-funding organization. The IDRC Digital Library provides full access over the Internet to IDRC’s rich research archive....
The Digital Library is an institutional repository – a database driven by open source software that makes content freely available through the Internet, permitting users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to information, as long as the source is acknowledged and cited. More than 700 academic institutions and research organizations worldwide have established repositories since 2000, but IDRC is among the first funding agencies to do so....
Throughout its 35-year history, IDRC has believed that knowledge must be shared to bring about positive change in some of the world’s poorest countries. Soaring costs of accessing research literature, and difficulties in having research published in traditional journals are restricting the development of research capacity in the developing world. The Digital Library will help IDRC research partners engage in the international dialogue on important development issues and increase the impact of their research.
“The IDRC Digital Library raises the bar considerably for information sharing,” said Rohinton Medhora, Vice President of Programs at IDRC. “By making sharing and collaboration much easier, the Digital Library will also strengthen IDRC-supported research networks. And by giving all stakeholders equal access, it will make it easier for research results to play a central role in public debate about development issues.”
Posted by
Peter Suber at 4/24/2007 10:01:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
