International agreement on global science online gateway announced
18 June 2008
The British Library has announced the establishment of a multilateral alliance to govern the rapidly growing online gateway to international scientific research information – http://worldwidescience.org.
Officials from organisations representing 38 countries formalised their commitment in Seoul, Korea, on 12 June by signing a WorldWideScience Alliance agreement to provide a single, sophisticated point of access for diverse scientific resources and expertise from nations around the world.
Richard Boulderstone, the British Library’s Director of e-Strategy and Information Systems, representing the Library in Seoul and first chair of the Alliance said: "Staying abreast of the scientific literature across the globe is crucial for innovative research. WorldWideScience.org provides free access to scientific knowledge and thereby helps advance breakthroughs in the field. The British Library is excited to be involved in developing this tool that will significantly enhance scientific inquiry."
The website enables anyone with Internet access to launch a single-query search of 32 national scientific databases and portals from 44 countries, covering six continents and nearly half of the world’s population. The typical user query searches 200 million pages of science and technology information not typically accessible through popular search engines.
WorldWideScience.org is the result of an agreement — signed in January 2007 by Chief Executive of the British Library Dame Lynne Brindley DBE and US Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science Dr. Raymond L. Orbach — to partner on the development of a global science gateway to accelerate scientific discovery by giving people faster and more convenient access to online scientific databases.
Learn more about the WorldWideScience Alliance.
For further information and interviews please contact: Lawrence Christensen +44(0)20 7412 7114 / lawrence.christensen@bl.uk or Suvi Kankainen at the British Library Press Office +44(0)20 7412 7105 / suvi.kankainen@bl.uk
Notes to Editors
1. The governance document laying out the structure for the WorldWideScience Alliance was ratified in February at the International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI) 2008 Winter Meeting in Paris, France.
The multilateral alliance was established to serve as the permanent governance structure of WorldWideScience.org and consists of 11 founding member organizations representing the 38 countries. Founding-member organizations include: African Journals OnLine; the British Library; Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information; Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (South Africa); German National Library of Science and Technology; Institut de l’Information Scientifique et Technique (France); Japan Science and Technology Agency; Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information; Science.gov Alliance (United States); Scientific Electronic Library Online; and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
In addition to member countries, ICSTI will serve as a member and primary sponsor.
2. The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation. It includes: books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. www.bl.uk