Open access activities: eIFL update Susan Veldsman eIFL Content Manager

An independent foundation that strives to lead, negotiate, support and advocate for the wide availability of electronic resources by library users in transition and developing countries. Operates through a network of national library consortia in 55 countries.

eIFL.net programs and services eIFL.net currently offers 6 core programs to the consortia in its network: Negotiating access to commercially available e- resources Supporting the creation of sustainable national library consortia Open access publishing and the building of institutional repositories of local content Intellectual property rights and libraries Free and Open Source software for Libraries Knowledge sharing and networking

eIFL Open Access Program Supported by OSI Call for Interest among eIFL members: –Serbia, November 2003 & November 2005 –South Africa, July 2004 & May 2005 –Ukraine, February 2005 –Lithuania, February 2005 –China, June 2005 –Southern Africa, August 2006 –Poland, September 2006 –Lesotho, April 2007 –Ghana, June 2007 –South Africa, 2007

CountryNumber of repositories within the countries Azerbaijan1 Belarus6 China7 Estonia2 Jordan1 Lithuania1 Mongolia4 (Namibia) (1) Poland18 Russia2 (South Africa) (5) Senegal1 Serbia1 Slovenia1 Uganda2 Ukraine8 Zimbabwe1 Total institutional repositories62

Ukraine International Renaissance Foundation (national Soros foundation) Open Access Conference, February 2005 –Recommendations endorsed by Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Ukrainian Parliament recommendation to mandate Open Access for publicly-funded research, December 2005 National Network of Open Access Repositories (2006), 10 institutions

Lithuania Lithuanian Research Library Consortia Open Access Scholarly Communication Workshop, February 2005 (Librarians) “Open Access - Revolution in the Scholarly Publishing?” June 2005 (Vice Rectors, Policy Makers, Scientific Community Development of Lithuanian Academic Libraries Network (national IR network); Received EU Structural Funds, considering Fedora, team led by Kaunas University

China Library of Chinese Academy of Sciences International Conference on Strategies and Policies for Open Access to Scientific Information, Beijing, June 2005 –Recommendations: require that all government funded research be published in OA; reform current system of review of S&T achievements so as to encourage academics to publish in OA; support leading journals to convert to OA Conducting studies of OA policies in other countries National Science and Technology Library of China considering Open Call for Open Access to Scientific Information

African countries… Zimbabwe: meeting 2007, on agenda of NUST, has an IR Uganda: has an IR Malawi: –University of Malawi-statement on IR’s –Postgrad committee-appointed subcommittee to work out logistics for the implementation of IR’s –MALICO- Greenstone

Africa: Uganda

African countries…. Zambia: Copperbelt University-policy paper on IR’s Nigeria-just beginning SARUA: vice chancellors and OA

South Africa…… Sivulile Xhosa…we have opened

Who are we? Workgroup –Susan Veldsman (eIFL) –Dr D Peters (DISA), –J De Beer (lecturer, OA specialist) –Dr H Suleman (snr lecturer in Digital Libraries) –Co-opting expertise e.g Monica Hammes, Charl Roberts, Eve Gray, Catherine Dubbeld and many more during 2007! Informal, working across sectors and institutions Consider ourselves to be activists for OA and IRs by raising awareness All have digital libraries as an aim, some way or another Presenting different perspectives to the same thing Bringing different expertise to the workgroup

Why are we doing this? Assist libraries in setting up OAI compliant digital research archives Work towards setting up a national virtual research archive Knowledge gap between the use and the implementation of IR’s Facilitate improved visibility and impact of research output Supplement the existing scholarly publishing system Raise general awareness for OA and IRs Advocate the benefits of OA to scholarly publishers and librarians Promoting eIFL’s efforts in OA in nationally, regional and internationally

What have we done so far? 2004: Open Access Conference –Promoted the general idea and advantages of OA and IRs 2005: – Workshop on setting up an Institutional Repository –Workshop on implementing Greenstone (Dec 2005) 2006: –LIASA Higher Education Interest Group:Western Cape School (March 2006) –Various presentations: DALRO, DACST –Southern Africa workshop 2007: –Lesotho with Swaziland particpants –Ghana –Carnegie corporation –SARUA –ASSAF –NRF…national project

What are our challenges? Four institutions have set up their IR’s at home institutions –University of Stellenbosch –University of Namibia –University of Zimbabwe –Adopt institutional policies to submit material to IRs –Others: Rhodes University, Univ Johannesburg, WITS,UP Human resources (capacity) Spread the knowledge! Not taking ownership ! Lack of governmental support Lack of institutional support Decentralised efforts—lack of working together Operational levels vs strategic/managerial efforts Funding

Example:Rhodes

What are our challenges? How to identify champs? Wow!! ASSAF IR’s are not just about e-thesis and dissertations Better understanding of what are the issues Who do you target? How does the map look like?

Projects/Tools to be useful? We must take ownership of our own destiny! Continue the awareness programs we are doing—this is only the beginning of big times to come! Keep giving support and leadership Thanks to….SPARC, DARE, eIFL, Peter Suber, OSI, Creative Commons now Science commons, ASSAF

Thank you!