Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL) works with
libraries
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
worldwide to enable access to
digital information
Digital data, in information theory and information systems, is information represented as a string of discrete symbols each of which can take on one of only a finite number of values from some alphabet, such as letters or digit (unit), digits. ...
for people in developing and transition countries. They are an international
not-for-profit organisation
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
based in
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
with a global network of partners.
Founded in 1999, EIFL began by advocating for affordable access to commercial
e-journal
An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...
s for academic and research libraries in
Central and Eastern Europe
Central and Eastern Europe is a term encompassing the countries in the Baltics, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Southeast Europe (mostly the Balkans), usually meaning former communist states from the Eastern Bloc and Warsaw Pact in Europe. ...
. EIFL now partners with libraries and library consortia in more than 60 developing and transition countries in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. Their work has expanded to include other programmes that enable access to knowledge for education, learning, research and community development.
History
EIFL began as eIFL.net in 1999 as an initiative of the
Open Society Institute
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a sta ...
(OSI), a private grant-making foundation that is part of the
Soros Foundation
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a st ...
network during the time that publisher
Frances Pinter
Frances Pinter (born 13 June 1949) was the founder and executive director of Knowledge Unlatched, a (then) not-for-profit company creating a global library consortium enabling sustainable open access academic book publishing. She was also the CE ...
was head of its international publishing programme. Recognising the role that libraries play in the exchange of ideas,
knowledge
Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...
and
information
Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...
and the development of
open societies, OSI invested in library development and modernisation especially in the post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
These countries represented
emerging markets
An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or were ...
for international providers of scholarly and academic information. However, the barriers to access were formidable with little money to pay for expensive electronic resources, poor technological infrastructures, lack of capacity and little awareness of electronic alternatives to print subscriptions. This deprived libraries of the wealth of international academic journals and databases and the opportunities of digital technologies.
OSI through EIFL aimed to assist libraries and their users in achieving access to electronic scholarly resources. EIFL negotiates licences with
publishers
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
for electronic resources on behalf of its members. As access to Internet-based digital material can be expanded at marginal cost to the provider, the idea is to leverage the purchasing power of individually "poor" customers and negotiate a multi-country consortial deal with information providers. EIFL acts as an agent for the national library consortia, who manages promotion and use of the electronic resources locally. Libraries and their users have access to thousands of full-text academic and scholarly journals from the arts to zoology through EIFL licences.
In 2002, EIFL became an independent foundation registered in the Netherlands with its operational seat in Rome, Italy.
EIFL is a member of the
(IFLA),
International Coalition of Library Consortia The International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) is an informal, self-organized group of library consortia from around the world; it exists for strategic and practical discussion of issues of common interest among the consortia members. The ...
(ICOLC),
Healthcare Information For All
Healthcare Information For All (HIFA) is a global campaign and community of practice of health professionals, publishers, librarians, technologists, researchers, policymakers, and patient representatives, working to improve the availability and u ...
(HIFA),
African Library and Information Associations and Institutions
The African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA), commonly referred to as AfLIA, is an international not-for-profit organization headquartered in Accra, Ghana. The Association is registered under the laws of Ghana as an ...
(AfLIA). EIFL is a founding member of the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) and signatory of the
Copyright for Creativity
Approach
EIFL's approach is to partner with libraries organised into national library consortia – groups of libraries that share common goals – thereby effectively reaching millions of people. Consortia include university, research and public libraries, and other institutions. At EIFL:
* They organize training events, developing tools and resources, and providing information on issues that affect access to knowledge,
* They advocate for access to knowledge nationally and internationally,
* They encourage knowledge sharing through peer-to-peer learning, best practice case studies, an annual partner conference and regional cooperation among consortia,
* They incubate pilot projects for public library services.
Partner countries
EIFL works with national library consortia and public libraries in over 60 developing and transition countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. To see the list go t
www.eifl.net/where-we-work
References
External links
* EIFL website - http://www.eifl.net/
* Ghana's news website, 20 July 2020. Library Authority, EIFL’s mobile library project raises pass rate in BECE. https://citinewsroom.com/2020/07/library-authority-eifls-mobile-library-project-raises-pass-rate-in-bece/
* Myanma Radio and Television, 22 February 2020. EIFL and partners feature in MRTV news item about the agreement signing ceremony for the Myanmar Education Research and Learning Portal (MERAL). https://www.mrtv.gov.mm/en/news-66396
* University World News Africa Edition, 7 September 2019. Boost for open access repositories in universities. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190904131906534
* Heegen, D. 2010. The open access situation in developing and transition countries: A Report from the EIFL General Assembly 2010 in Lund. Sciecominfo. http://www.sciecom.org/ojs/index.php/sciecominfo/article/viewFile/4317/3940 . Retrieved 8 December 2010.
* Fuegi, D & Segbert-Elbert, M. 2008. Planning the Future of the National Library of Mongolia. Ariadne. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue63/segbertElbert-fuegi/ . Retrieved 8 December 2010.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Electronic Information For Libraries
Foundations based in the Netherlands
Organizations based in Vilnius
Non-profit organizations based in Lithuania
Library-related organizations
Free and open-source software organizations
Organizations established in 1999
Academic publishing
1999 establishments in Lithuania