ISNAR Hosts CGIAR Information Managers Consortium

As a knowledge-driven system, the CGIAR works at the frontiers of food and environmental science, developing farming solutions geared to the needs of millions of small farmers in developing countries.

How to better grasp the new opportunities offered by the ongoing knowledge revolution was the topic debated and acted upon by CGIAR Information Managers at their annual meeting held at ISNAR.

Key objectives of the meetings were to:

- Review Consortium activities and plan for 2004
- Review on-going partnerships with other organizations and explore options
- Explore new issues and technical developments
- Review ICT-KM Strategy (with emphasis on the proposal for a Virtual Library).

Efforts are underway to establish a CGIAR Virtual Library, an important part of the newly-approved CGIAR ICT-KM Strategic Plan. It's basic function will be to integrate information of all CGIAR libraries in a common referencing system, thereby providing rapid access through a resource portal to all other data and information objects produced by the CGIAR. In addition to increasing significantly the number of journals available electronically in the CGIAR system, the Virtual Library will also facilitate access to other important sources of information such as the Web of Science and E-CAB.

"The benefits of a Virtual Library will surpass our expectations," says Luz Marina Alvare of IFPRI. "It will enable CGIAR scientists and partners in far-flung corners to access diverse information collections from a single platform."

A highlight of the meeting was a visit to SWETS, a top journal aggregator located in Lisse, Netherlands. Members of the CGIAR Consortium negotiated better journal subscription rates, and ways in which electronic accessibility could be enhanced to gain access to more online resources without extra costs.

Resource persons from FAO, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP), and the University of Amsterdam participated in the meeting.