Bringing scientific literature to the developing world: The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL)
| Date | 01 February 2003 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520310462563 |
| Pages | 51-54 |
| Published date | 01 February 2003 |
| Author | Nico Dauphiné,Mary Anderson Ochs,Nicole K. Joos |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Bringing scientific
literature to the
developing world: The
Essential Electronic
Agricultural Library
(TEEAL)
Nico DauphineÂ
Mary Anderson Ochs and
Nicole K. Joos
Background
Access to current scholarship is essential to
the success of research and development
programmes around the world. Information
on improving agricultural production and
nutrition is fundamental to human progress.
Despite the pace of ``globalisation'' in some
parts of the world, a majority of countries lack
access to the world's scholarly publishing.
Without access to such information,
researchers in many parts of the world may
struggle for solutions to problems already
addressed in published articles. In answer to
this need, Mann Library at Cornell University
and the Rockefeller Foundation have
cooperated with major scientific journal
publishers and bibliographic database
producers to create The Essential Electronic
Agricultural Library (TEEAL).
TEEAL revolutionises information access
for institutions that cannot otherwise afford
recent scientific journals. It is a unique
solution to improving current agricultural
research in developing countries, where
economic realities have forced many libraries
to severely curtail subscriptions to foreign
periodicals. Even when scientists can access
abstracts via indexing databases, they may
face long waits to obtain full-text articles if
they can obtain them at all. TEEAL offers the
latest research to help meet challenges such as
diversifying crop production, improving soil
fertility, and building trade infrastructure.
With TEEAL, users gain instant access to
full-text articles fundamental to carrying out
their work at a fraction of the true cost. The
full nine-year set would be worth over
$500,000 in regular institutional
subscription costs.
Developing TEEAL
Staff at Mann Library began, in 1988, to
identify the most valuable literature in the
fields of agriculture and the environment by
gathering the opinions of over 600 scientists
from around the world. From 1991 to 1996,
Cornell University Press published a multi-
volume series, The Literature of the Agricultural
Sciences edited by Wallace Olsen (1991-
1996). This extensive bibliography defines
The authors
Nico Dauphine is a PhD Student at the University of
Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.
Mary Anderson Ochs is Director for the TEEAL Project
based at Albert R. Mann Library, Cornell University,
Ithaca, New York, USA.
Nicole K. Joos is Project Manager for TEEAL, Cornell
University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
Keywords
Agriculture, Environment, Developing countries, CD-ROM,
Scientific management, Journal publishing
Abstract
The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL) is an
indexed library of key agricultural, environmental and related
science periodicals created to help institutions in developing
countries significantly expand their journal collections
despite the prohibitive cost of journal subscriptions. TEEAL
currently contains nine years of subscriptions (1993-2001) to
over 140 scientific journals with 1.7 million pages of articles
on 381 CD-ROMs. TEEAL is distributed at a low cost to 109
low and lower-middle income countries around the world.
Today, 66 institutions in 34 countries use TEEAL, and many
others are negotiating its acquisition. This paper discusses
the creation and development of TEEAL and its future
direction in the context of working towards universal access
to scientific information.
Electronic access
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is
available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
Refereed article received 27 September 2002
Approved for publication 11 October 2002
51
Online Information Review
Volume 27 .Number 1 .2003 .pp. 51-54
#MCB UP Limited .ISSN 1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/14684520310462563
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