EBSCO Databases Aid Iraq Rebuild

Publisher working with Al Sharaka Program for Higher Education

By Michael Rogers -- Library Journal, 05/15/2004

EBSCO Publishing is helping in the rebuilding of Iraq's libraries and schools by opening up access to several of its top databases. The company has joined the Al Sharaka Program for Higher Education in Iraq, an initiative launched by USAID and members of Oklahoma Higher Education Partners. According to EBSCO, the Al Sharaka Program has been designed "to meet the critical needs of Iraqi higher education. [Its] approach is to apply a focused set of activities that have been vetted with the Iraqis to help at national, campus, and program levels." EBSCO is providing links to Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premiere, MasterFILE Premier, MEDLINE, and Ultra Online Package via EBSCO host.

The program also provides President's Workshops for all Iraqi university presidents that culminate with a conference at the University of Oklahoma, along with support for administrative initiatives, computers, Internet access, online medical coursework, assistance in establishing science labs, training, and more.