Information for research in developing countries: Information Technology, a friend or foe?

This paper begins as follows: "Generation of knowledge is only one part of the research process; for knowledge to be useful, it should be shared with other researchers and communicated, in a suitable format, to different users/stakeholders...Thus information and communication are two very important aspects of research. Scientists in developing countries are terribly handicapped in both these aspects."

Arunachalam details trends associated with this "handicap". First, he explores printed media, claiming that many institutions in developing countries cannot afford to maintain good libraries. For instance, he says that most libraries in sub-Saharan Africa have not subscribed to any journal for years, which hampers the ability of scientists in African universities to compete with scientists in USA and Western Europe. This trend in part reflects the fact that the cost of journals is escalating at a rate much higher than the general inflation rate. Even in the West, universities and research institutions are facing a "serials crisis". According to the Association of Research Libraries, the median subscription cost of a journal rose from $87 in 1986 to $267 in 1999. In 1986, research libraries in North America purchased on average 16,312 journals and 32,679 books. By 1999, research libraries purchased 1,053 fewer journals and 8,385 fewer books. Interlibrary lending is one means to sharing scarce printed resources. However, this trend never picked up in most parts of the developing world. In contrast, in countries like the UK and the USA, hundreds of thousands of inter-lending transactions take place every year.

Next, Arunachalam explores electronic media. According to the Science and Engineering Indicators 2002, the Internet access gap between the rich and the poor areas of the world is not only large, but is also growing. In 1997, Internet host penetration rates in North America were 267 times greater than rates in Africa; by October 2000, the gap had grown to a multiple of 540. Arunachalam points out that the "rapid changes that are taking place in the ways new information is published, stored, disseminated and retrieved using the rapidly advancing information and communication technologies have exacerbated the relative deprivation suffered by researchers in the developing world." For example, when many journals started publishing electronic versions, they began accepting manuscripts electronically and conducting electronic paper reviews. Many developing country scientists, who do not have access to personal computers, email, and Internet, can neither submit their papers to these journals nor read them or act as referees. Lack of access to the right kind of technology also jeopardises scholars' chances for participation in research programmes.

Finally, the paper reviews several efforts in recent years to address these digital gaps by enhancing free and low-cost access to content of different kinds. These include initiatives promoted by scientists, libraries, publishers, academies, and societies. For example, a number of journals are available for free electronic access for a few months after publication. Parts of journals such as The Economist and The New Scientist are available free on the Web. However, in the author's words, "Unfortunately, established publishers would not like to lose their stranglehold on the scholarly journals market and would try to scuttle the open source movement." He claims that even some society publishers refuse to open access to their journals, largely because subscriptions are their major source of income.