Elsevier and the Library of Alexandria Sign a Three Year Agreement to Provide Access to ScienceDirect and Scopus to 150 Researchers in Low-income Countries

AMSTERDAM, December 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Elsevier-Library of Alexandria Memorandum of Understanding drives research usage and access with virtual knowledge community in developing countries

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, and the Library of Alexandria (BA) announced today that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide 150 researchers working in least-developed and low-income countries across the globe with access to ScienceDirect, Elsevier's online scientific research platform with 11 million full text articles and Scopus, an abstract and citation database containing 21,000 peer-reviewed journals from 5,000 publishers. The new agreement will provide courtesy access for a period of three years.

As an integral part of this initiative, the BA will also facilitate research capacity building, or the development of strong research skills through a closed Virtual Knowledge Community (VKC) to provide the scientists with regular support including: research best practices, information literacy and authorship skills training.

"Science can help feed the hungry, heal the sick, protect the environment, bring dignity to work and create space for the joy of self-expression... But if we do not build capacity for the deprived to have access to the best of science, the gap between the rich and the poor will increase," said Dr. Ismael Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria, "This collaboration between Elsevier and the Library of Alexandria is intended to empower many researchers in Africa to have access to the best of science today."

Many of the 150 scientists who will be granted access to ScienceDirect and Scopus focus their research on areas relevant to the UN Millennium Development Goals including the treatment and prevention of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; promoting rural development with improved water, sanitation and food security.

Mohamed Kamel, Elsevier's Regional Director Africa, said, "It is an honor to support the critical work that the Library of Alexandria is undertaking to provide access to information, develop capacity and drive science in key developing world institutes, bringing researchers closer to their peers across the world. This carefully targeted South-South knowledge exchange is part of our overall effort with Research4Life and the Elsevier Foundation to provide clinicians, researchers, and policymakers in the developing world with access to the information they need to address critical health and sustainability challenges."

About The Library of Alexandria

Situated close to the original site of the ancient Library of Alexandria, The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the New Library of Alexandria, inaugurated in October 2002, is dedicated to recapturing the spirit of the original library. It aspires to be the world's window on Egypt and Egypt's window on the world. The library complex contains space for millions of books, a center for the internet and its archive, museums of antiquities, manuscripts, the history of science and more. In addition the library includes fifteen research institutes covering Manuscripts Studies, Calligraphy and Writing Studies, Francophone Cultural Activities, Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage, Alexandria and Mediterranean Studies, Special Studies and Programs, Democracy and Social Peace, Hellenistic Studies, Development Studies, Environmental Studies, Islamic Civilization Studies, Coptic Studies, Information Sciences, Arabic Computational Linguistics Studies and Genealogies Studies.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, helping research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world leading provider of professional information solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal and Risk and Business sectors, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
Ylann Schemm
Elsevier
Senior Corporate Responsibility Manager
+31-20-485-2025
y.schemm@elsevier.com

Dr. Sherif Riad
Head of External Relations Sector
The Library of Alexandria
Ms. Sarah Elhaddad
Editor / Media Department
+20-348-399-99
media@bibalex.org