Open access – the immediate, online, free and unrestricted availability of research results – is a powerful solution to the barriers that researchers in developing and transition economy countries face in accessing and sharing critical research that can improve people’s lives.

In collaboration with our global network of partners, we have contributed substantially to open access (OA) in developing and transition economy countries. In 2016 - 2017, we’ll be taking stock of our progress and taking our OA programme to the next level.

EIFL has released a new video about a mobile library project that takes solar-powered laptop computers and internet to poorly resourced schools to give struggling children hands on computer practice.

The video features Western Regional Library’s first visit to Archbishop Amissah Junior High School in Western Region, and the school’s first hands on computer class.

Over 50 research funders and representatives of research organizations from 15 countries attended workshops in Budapest, Hungary, to revisit the Horizon 2020 open access (OA) mandate, to examine OA policy developments in Europe, and to share examples of best practice in OA policy development and implementation.

EIFL and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences together organized the workshops, which were held on 29-30 October, within the framework of the PASTEUR4OA  project.

“Yesterday we had nothing, today we have the world of knowledge at our fingertips,” a professor of mathematics at the University of Laos told me after attending the first-ever e-resources training offered by the Laos Library and Information Consortium (LALIC).

That was in 2005 - and what a long way LALIC has come in 10 years.

LALIC celebrated it’s 10th anniversary at its annual meeting by giving member libraries the opportunity to present their achievements from the past 10 years.

In September, EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) team members and representatives of EIFL-PLIP grantee libraries travelled to Aarhus – named by some studies the happiest city in Denmark  – to attend Next Library 2015 festival, and to celebrate the opening of the new Aarhus Central Library, also known as Dokk1.

Over 350 people from 30 countries took part in the festival, and everyone was intrigued by Dokk1.

With e-books more and more popular among library users, librarians are faced with the choice of different purchasing models: annual subscription, perpetual access purchases (including Patron-Driven Acquisition or Demand-Driven Acquisition), or Short Term Loan. EIFL Licensing Programme Manager, Romy Beard, blogs about annual subscriptions to e-book collections, which still prove to be a popular business model.

For more information on fair use and the different legal systems, see Prof Brandon Butler guest blog Fair use, open norms and blurred lines between common law and civil law countries.

'open norms' on the agenda

As governments seek to reform copyright law so that it is fit for the digital age, the need for a general, flexible exception (also known as an open norm) is stimulating widespread interest among academics and policy-makers.

In this guest blog, Professor Brandon Butler, American University Washington College of Law (WCL), discusses the merits of the fair use doctrine in the US and addresses commonly held objections to the more widespread introduction of open norms in national copyright laws.

This year, the Consortium des Bibliothèques de l’Enseignement Supérieur de Senegal (COBESS) celebrate their 10th anniversary.

COBESS will mark the occasion by hosting a major event to showcase its contribution to higher education and research in Senegal. The event will take place from 2 - 6 November in Dakar, Senegal's capital city.

Using Facebook can be an effective way for academic libraries to connect with their user community.

By posting updates on Facebook, libraries can inform their users about the library’s programmes and services. They can invite students to attend training sessions, post practical information about the library’s opening times, link to new and existing print and online resources, and update the university community about any new developments. 'Followers' can engage with the library by commenting on posts and sharing them with their friends.