Elsevier Foundation's new library grants focus on telemedicine, HIV/AIDS videos and Egyptian cancer database

The Elsevier Foundation has announced the 2010 recipients of grants under its Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries program, committing over $300,000 to support the work of libraries in developing countries. The 2010 grant recipients were selected from 260 proposals worldwide for their innovation and potential for impact in the developing world. The Innovative Libraries program supports capacity-building projects in the science, technology and medicine library training, education, infrastructure, digitization and the preservation of information.

In 2010, four new grants have been awarded to institutions across Africa and Asia focusing on telemedicine, infrastructure-building and the preservation and accessibility of primary source content which would otherwise be lost to researchers and policymakers. Grant descriptions are included below.

• HIV/ AIDS Audio-visual Archive, University of Cape Town, South Africa
• Egyptian National Cancer Database, International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR), UK and Egypt
• Library Infrastructure Boost, University of Hargeisa, Somaliland
• Health Information Delivery in Rural Guatemala Using Telemedicine, University of Pennsylvania Library, USA and Guatemala

In addition, the Foundation continues to support the following multiyear grants in 2010:

• Information Needs Assessment Among Health Professionals and Health Sciences Libraries In Liberia, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library, George Washington University Medical Center, USA and Liberia
• 'Librarians Without Borders-' E-Library Training Initiative Grant, Medical Library Association, USA
• Transformation of ICIMOD's Traditional Library into a Mountain Learning and Information Center, International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal
• Enhancing Access to Current Literature by Health Workers in Rural Uganda and Community Health Problem Solving, Makerere University, Uganda
• Increasing access to relevant health information for primary healthcare providers through Kenyan public libraries, Book Aid International, UK and Kenya
• Health Information Network in Cameroon, Centre International de Reference "Chantal Biya" (CIRCB)

"The Elsevier Foundation and our board of reviewers have the opportunity to review proposals from libraries and their supporters from all of over the world. These ten programs are just a few examples of the extraordinary contribution that libraries are making to global health and development," noted David Ruth, Executive Director of the Elsevier Foundation and Senior Vice President Global Communications, Elsevier.

"INCTR is pleased to know that the Elsevier Foundation supports innovative projects that help raise the global profile of research conducted in low and middle income countries. This is especially important in the area of cancer, where these poorer resourced countries are collectively having to bear the burden of the majority of global cancer incidence and mortality," remarked Mark Lodge, Director of Program Development, INCTR.

"This award will allow the Penn Libraries to take our experience and findings in Botswana--also supported by the Elsevier Foundation--and apply what we learned in another underserved, yet unique environment: rural Guatemala. We continue to use innovative solutions to provide access to information towards the ultimate goal of improving health." Anne Seymour, project PI, and Associate Director, Biomedical Library.