1. Supporting local journal publishing in
the developing world
Pippa Smart
Head, Publishing Initiatives
psmart@inasp.info
SSP, Annual meeting
Washington, DC
9 June 2006
Slide 1

2. Outline
• How much research in LDCs
• Representation in international journals
• How many local journals
• Why local journals
• Supporting local publishing
Slide 2

3. Regional research
Oceania, 1.4% Africa, 1.1%
North America,
24.8%
Asia, 36.8%
Latin America
and Caribbean,
25.0%
Europe, 33.4%
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, December 2004
Slide 3

4. International published output
S&E articles, by region: 1988–2003
Region 1988 1990 1995 2000 2003 Change
All countries 466,419 508,795 580,809 632,781 698,726 +51%
Sub-Saharan
0.97% 0.86% 0.72% 0.63% 0.60% -9%
Africa
Central/South
1.21% 1.35% 1.64% 2.33% 2.71% +234%
America
Asia 2.17% 2.08% 1.96% 1.94% 2.26% +56%
Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
SOURCES: Thomson ISI, SCI and SSCI, and National Science Foundation.
Slide 4

5. International published output
S&E articles, by region: 1988–2003
Region 1988 1990 1995 2000 2003 Change
All countries 466,419 508,795 580,809 632,781 698,726 +51%
Sub-Saharan
4,544 4,355 4,161 3,973 4,219 -9%
Africa
Central/South
5,632 6,886 9,547 14,747 18,933 +234%
America
Asia 10,116 10,566 11,355 12,294 15,779 +56%
Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
SOURCES: Thomson ISI, SCI and SSCI, and National Science Foundation.
Slide 5

6. How many journals …
• Ulrich’s
– Not all journals know about Ulrichs (e.g. only 327
African-published titles)
• ISSN agency
– Not all journals have an ISSN
– Some journals have multiple ISSNs
– Many items with an ISSN are not journals
• 1123 publications from Sri Lanka – truer number of
journals published c.50
Slide 6

7. How many titles …
• African Journals OnLine
– 230 titles included (+c.100 other titles identified)
• ISI
– 27 titles from sub-Saharan Africa
• Medline
– Europe/USA/Australasia: 6708 (90.55%)
– Africa: 30 (0.40%)
– Asia: 359 (4.85%)
– China: 209 (2.82%)
– Central/South America: 102 (1.38%)
Slide 7

8. Why local journals … language
• In 1995 English was the second most common
language
– Chinese was the most common
• By 2050 English is likely to be the fourth most
common language
– Bengali, Tamil and Malay are the fastest growing
languages
(Graddol, 2004)
• C.6000 languages in use today
– (90% doomed to extinction)
Slide 8

9. The future of English …
The changing percentage of the
world’s population speaking English
David Graddol. The Future of Language Science (2004) 27 February 2004; Vol.
303. no. 5662, pp. 1329 - 1331 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1096546]
Slide 9

10. Why local journals … relevance
• Local knowledge in Africa is not the same as local
knowledge in India.” researcher/editor, Sokoine
University of Agriculture, Tanzania
• Appropriate therapies, culturally-sensitive
presentation of material, understandable
descriptions, local/small-scale research, priorities for
research …
Slide 10

11. Why local journals …
• To define and enforce the quality of doing science
and publishing within a nation - setting the national
standards
• To stimulate development of science by assistance
and emphasis on selected areas
• To provide training for authors and reviewers
Lewis Joel Greene, SciElo, Brazil
Slide 11

12. The international need for national
content
• A national newspaper, the New Vision, picked up a
study published in the Ugandan journal African
Health Sciences showing that about half of
chloroquine tablets and injections in Uganda are fake
or substandard
• Implications for Malaria research …
• Implications for efficacy trials of chloroquine …
• Implications for public health policies …
Slide 12

13. Selecting/integrating foreign content ?
Picking up national content
• European publishers publishing English-language
versions of foreign journals
– Selected articles – selected for relevance
• Themed issues
– BMJ special issues: e.g. middle eastern health
perspectives
Picking up international content
• Selective content within national journals
Is there a need to do this?
Slide 13

14. Supporting national publishing
• Small number of programmes
– More programmes devoted to getting “Western”
information into developing countries
– PERI, HINARI, AGORA, etc.
• Emphasis on support for online publishing
– Websites – e.g. Bioline to host journals, African
Journals OnLine (www.ajol.info)
– Partnerships – e.g. CSE partnership
– Increasing emphasis to include content in indexes –
e.g. Medline activities
Slide 14

15. INASP support: workshops
• Example workshop coverage:
– The editorial office: Journal production and design:
Online publishing: Journal development and strategy:
Copyright and licensing: Journal promotion and
indexing:
• Workshops in Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda,
South Africa, Ethiopia, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Nepal,
Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Iran
• Targeted at editors/publishers (=decision-makers)
• Large amount of participation (group work,
discussion, exercises)
Slide 15

16. INASP support: resources
• Books, e.g.
– A Guidebook on Journal Publishing for Agriculture and
Rural Development
• Resource packs
– Workshop packs, including essays, resource guides,
hints and tips on variety of publishing topics (soon to
be online)
• Online guides, e.g.
– Getting Started in Electronic Publishing
– Copyright assignment form
– How to prepare XML files for Medline submission
Slide 16

17. INASP support: facilitating online
publishing
• Journal OnLine projects
– www.ajol.info (230: abstract only, since 1998)
– Vietnam, Nepal and Sri Lanka JOL to come online
soon – full text, mostly Open Access
• Supporting African journals to publish on commercial
hosts
– 7 titles: 2 on Extenza, 5 on Ingenta
• Partnership and advice for journals to build own
platform using Open Journals System (full author
submission to publication tool)
Slide 17

18. Publishing developments in
developing countries
• Increasing online presence
• Continuing instability/financial insecurity
• Open access
– Desire to make content more available
– Concern about financial security
– Regional differences in opinion
Slide 18

19. Thank you
www.inasp.info
www.inasp.info/psi
• publishing support programme
www.inasp.info/pubs
• INASP publications
www.inasp.info/psi/resources.shtml
• Resources and guides for publishers
Pippa Smart
Head, Publishing Initiatives, INASP
Oxford UK
psmart@inasp.info
Slide 19