Amsterdam, December 16, 2010 – The Elsevier Foundation has announced the 2010 recipients of grants under its Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries program, committing over $300,000 to support the work of libraries in developing countries. The 2010 grant recipients were selected from 260 proposals worldwide for their innovation and potential for impact in the developing world. The Innovative Libraries program supports capacity-building projects in the science, technology and medicine library training, education, infrastructure, digitization and the preservation of information.
In 2010, four new grants have been awarded to institutions across Africa and Asia focusing on telemedicine, infrastructure-building and the preservation and accessibility of primary source content which would otherwise be lost to researchers and policymakers. Grant descriptions are included below.
- HIV/ AIDS Audio-visual Archive, University of Cape Town, South Africa
- Egyptian National Cancer Database, International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR), UK and Egypt
- Library Infrastructure Boost, University of Hargeisa, Somaliland
- Health Information Delivery in Rural Guatemala Using Telemedicine, University of Pennsylvania Library, USA and Guatemala
In addition, the Foundation continues to support the following multiyear grants in 2010:
- Information Needs Assessment Among Health Professionals and Health Sciences Libraries In Liberia, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library, George Washington University Medical Center, USA and Liberia
- 'Librarians Without Borders®' E-Library Training Initiative Grant, Medical Library Association, USA
- Transformation of ICIMOD's Traditional Library into a Mountain Learning and Information Center, International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal
- Enhancing Access to Current Literature by Health Workers in Rural Uganda and Community Health Problem Solving, Makerere University, Uganda
- Increasing access to relevant health information for primary healthcare providers through Kenyan public libraries, Book Aid International, UK and Kenya
- Health Information Network in Cameroon, Centre International de Reference "Chantal Biya" (CIRCB)
"The Elsevier Foundation and our board of reviewers have the opportunity to review proposals from libraries and their supporters from all of over the world. These ten programs are just a few examples of the extraordinary contribution that libraries are making to global health and development," noted David Ruth, Executive Director of the Elsevier Foundation and Senior Vice President Global Communications, Elsevier.
"INCTR is pleased to know that the Elsevier Foundation supports innovative projects that help raise the global profile of research conducted in low and middle income countries. This is especially important in the area of cancer, where these poorer resourced countries are collectively having to bear the burden of the majority of global cancer incidence and mortality," remarked Mark Lodge, Director of Program Development, INCTR.
"This award will allow the Penn Libraries to take our experience and findings in Botswana--also supported by the Elsevier Foundation--and apply what we learned in another underserved, yet unique environment: rural Guatemala. We continue to use innovative solutions to provide access to information towards the ultimate goal of improving health." Anne Seymour, project PI, and Associate Director, Biomedical Library.
Notes to Editors:
Full project descriptions are included below. Please visit www.elsevierfoundation.org or contact foundation@elsevier.com for further information.
About The Elsevier Foundation
The Elsevier Foundation provides grants to institutions around the world, with a focus on support for the world's libraries and for scholars in the early stages of their careers. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than 60 grants worth millions of dollars to non-profit organizations working in these fields. Through gift-matching, the Foundation also supports the efforts of Elsevier employees to play a positive role in their local and global communities. The Elsevier Foundation is funded by Elsevier, a leading global publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. www.elsevierfoundation.org
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher 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 SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help 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 publisher and information provider, 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).
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Elsevier Foundation Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries 2010 Grant Awards
HIV/AIDS Audio-visual Archive, University of Cape Town, South Africa
With a grant from the Elsevier Foundation, the University of Cape Town Library will undertake a unique archival project to safeguard and make accessible a decade of critical 'primary source' knowledge on the social and political aspects of the AIDS epidemic in South Africa. Three thousand hours of video footage generated since 1998 by the Community Media Trust will be curated and archived to ensure that the largest audio-visual collections on the AIDS experience in Africa will not become lost to South Africa, the country with the largest number of HIV positive individuals—or to researchers and policymakers around the world.
Egyptian National Cancer Database, International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR), UK and Egypt
Evidence-based strategies are needed to address the growing cancer epidemic in developing countries. The Eastern Mediterranean Region is predicted to experience a dramatic spike in cancer over the next twenty years representing 27% of the global increase in cancer incidence. Egypt alone will experience increases in cancer incidence of between 100-180% during the next twenty years. This Elsevier Foundation grant will enable the National Cancer Institute in Cairo (hosting the largest cancer hospital in the Middle East) to build evidence-based cancer care in Egypt. They will work in close collaboration with the National Cancer Institute in Cairo and Cairo University to provide Egypt's scientific leadership with a comprehensive and maintainable national record of cancer research with which to begin planning their national research agenda.
Health Information Delivery in Rural Guatemala using Telemedicine, University of Pennsylvania Libraries, USA and Atitlán Hospital Library, Guatemala
This Elsevier Foundation grant will enable the University of Pennsylvania to expand their "Guatemala Health Initiative" to deliver a medical library needs assessment and telemedicine pilot in rural Guatemala. The newly constructed Hospitalito Atitlán will host the library and serve as the project hub supporting surrounding rural healthcare providers with sustainable information resources, point of care clinical databases, mobile devices and content, technical support, and user training. A key element of the program is local training and capacity building to ensure the sustainability of the program.
Library Infrastructure Boost, University of Hargeisa, Somaliland
Somaliland is ranked as 161 out 163 of the least developed countries in the world. Most hospitals were destroyed during their protracted civil war (1988 -1991) which resulted in a devastating brain drain of health professionals. With this Elsevier Foundation grant, the University of Hargeisa will establish a complete ILS or library automation system using KOHA open source software, training librarian staff, hardware acquisition and gaining access to online databases and journals. The new ILS will be an important step to helping the University of Hargeisa to serve the desperately needed trained professionals to regenerate its institutions.