Earthquake-hit libraries get continued access

Springer will extend the period of free access to its online platform until 2015 for 15,000 students and researchers in Haiti. The country is continuing to rebuild its infrastructure in the aftermath of its 2010 earthquake that, among other things, destroyed nine of Haiti’s 11 state university libraries. The Springer donation, which was initially set to expire in 2013, provides scientific content from approximately 2,000 research-level scientific journals, including French-language editions, and the book series Lecture Notes in Computer Science and Lecture Notes in Mathematics.

The digital library project in Haiti is being set up by Bibliothèques sans Frontières (BSF) in partnership with the State University of Haiti. The initiative to provide immediate and easy access to electronic information resources is supported by 23 international publishing partners.

'In spite of all the achievements made last year such as building, the installation of hardware and professional training, issues with internet access hampered the library’s ability to deliver content,' said Marine Louvigny, programme coordinator of Bibliothèques Sans Frontières. 'While proper internet connectivity continues to slow down our progress, these last remaining problems should be resolved over the next few weeks and we are delighted that Springer has extended its commitment to this project in light of these obstacles.'