CD-ROM in Developing Countries: A UNESCO Perspective

Abstract

UNESCO set up a Clearing House in 1992 to promote and disseminate the information it gathers and to create new information sources corresponding to the needs of Member States. A survey of needs showed a strong demand for CD-ROMs, and the success of a prototype, UNESCO Databases, encouraged it to prepare a new edition and plan two more CD-ROMs, Index Translationum and World Heritage. Another programme involves the CD-ROMs of full text as a means of helping less developed countries to obtain affordable economic access to literature. An agreement has been reached with ADONIS whereby free subscriptions to the ADONIS discs for 1991 and 1992 are given to ten selected institutions in Africa, the Arab states, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. A further initiative is the joint ICSU/UNESCO International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications, a cooperative network of donors and recipients. Training workshops are also being held in different parts of the world, and an inventory of CD-ROM in developing countries is being prepared.