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HINARI/AGORA/OARE FAQs
University of Florida Emeritus Librarian Lenny Rhine (standing) and
attendees smile during a HINARI workshop in Cambodia in 2007.
Lenny led the training. Two of the attendees pictured are medical
doctors.
Q: How do I know if my library qualifies for access to
HINARI, AGORA or OARE?
A: Publicly funded and nonprofit institutions in most countries
with an annual per capita gross national income of less than
USD $1,250 can gain free access to journals in these collections.
Publicly funded and nonprofit institutions in most countries with
an annual per capita GNI of between $1,250 and $3,500 can gain
access for a nominal annual fee per institution. For a list of
generally eligible countries and more information regarding
access, visit each initiative’s website. The term “generally” is
used, because all participating publishers, including Elsevier,
exclude certain countries from accessing content. Only by
contacting each initiative or publisher can you learn which
countries may be excluded by each publisher.
Q: If my institution qualifies for HINARI/AGORA/OARE access,
what support could we receive?
A: Training modules are available on CD-ROM and, for HINARI,
via the program’s website. To obtain CDs with training modules,
send requests by email. Find the email addresses on this page.
Q: What are the technical requirements for accessing
HINARI/AGORA/OARE content?
A: Users need computers connected to the Internet with a
connection rate of 128K baud or higher. The
HINARI/AGORA/OARE system works with Internet Explorer
Version 6.0 or higher and equivalent browsers. Users also need
a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to access journal
articles in PDF. The reader is available for free at www.adobe.com.
Q: Have HINARI’s access issues been solved?
A: Yes. HINARI has had problems with its authentication system.
Microsoft has stepped forward and delivered replacement servers
and software. HINARI and the other programs now have an
effective and permanent solution to their authentication system.
Q: Does Elsevier sponsor initiatives to stimulate authorship
in developing countries?
A: Yes. The Elsevier Foundation provides the New Scholars
Program which offers grants to support promising young
scientists and healthcare practitioners. Speaking more generally,
studies have shown that participating in HINARI/AGORA/OARE
stimulates research in developing countries which, in turn,
generates papers.
Q: How can we gauge the importance of HINARI/AGORA/OARE?
A: One way is to look at scholarly output in nations with
HINARI/AGORA/OARE access. While a cause-and-effect
relationship can't be established, such access may be a factor in
a nation's increase in scholarly output.
www.who.int/hinari hinari@who.int
www.aginternetwork.org agora@fao.org
www.oaresciences.org adminyale@oaresciences.org
Countries benefiting from HINARI — launched in 2001 and providing journal access since 2002 — have seen a massive increase in the number of authors publishing in international peer-reviewed journals, well in excess of the increase seen in the remaining nations of the world.
When looking at the number of authors publishing in peer-reviewed journals over the five-year period 2002–2006, we see 38% growth for non-HINARI countries but 63% growth for those signed up to HINARI.
When looking at the number of authors publishing in peer-reviewed journals over the five-year period 1997–2001, we see a growth rate of 20% for both sets of countries.
To arrive at these conclusions, I examined counts of authors from each country and year.
—Dr. Andrew Plume, Senior Publishing Information Manager, Research & Academic Relations, Elsevier, Oxford, UK
