Introduction to AGORA

Objectives• Introduce AGORA• Review Content• Discuss Eligibility• Cover Objectives• Know Partners, Donors, Publishers• Copyright and fareuse• User Agreement• Use of the password and username

What is AGORA?• AGORA is an Internet based portal • Provides free or low cost access to major scientific

journals in agriculture and related biological, environmental and social sciences

• Launched in October 2003• Covers agriculture and related biological,

environmental and social sciences• Hundreds of institutions are registered in over fifty

countries• Has over 900 journals from almost 40 of the

world’s leading academic publishers

Content• Over 900 journals in agriculture and related

biological, environmental and social sciences

• Covers agriculture (broadly defined) and related sciences

• Full-text coverage from 1997 onward in most cases

• Journals from the world’s leading academic publishers.

Objectives of AGORA• Increase access to high-quality, relevant

literature in agriculture

• Improve the quality and effectiveness of education and training.

• Improve food security

• Improve research in agriculture and related sciences

Overview• All AGORA users may browse collection and

journal abstracts without log in. (You may still have full-text access through the AGORA website if your institutions subscribe to the journals.)

• To view, download and print the full-text articles users must be registered and must login first

• Login in may only be done by registered institutions

AGORA is for Everyone

• Anyone can browse AGORA’s collection of journals without logging in and get to the publishers’ websites and abstracts of journal articles.

• However, only students, faculty and staff at eligible, registered institutions can access full-text articles.

Users of This Tutorial• Check with your librarian to receive the

username and password that gives you full access to AGORA so you can save and download full-text articles.

• You will need at least a 56K modem to be able to download full-text articles with any ease.

Eligibility

• Overview

• Country Eligibility

• Institutional Eligibility

• Background to eligibility

Eligibility• 70 countries qualify

• Only public sector or non-profit educational/research organization (no NGOs)

• Institutions must register (just once) to receive a username and password

• All students, faculty and staff use the same password provided to that organization

Country Eligibility• Country eligibility is based on GNI per capita (as of 1

January 2001).• Free access is available to institutions in countries with a

GNI per capita of $1000 or less• Access to those with GNI of between $1000 and $3000 is at

a yearly subscription of $1000 for each institution• 70 countries are currently eligible under the Band 1

countries (those with GNI of $1000 or less)• 37 countries are currently eligible under the Band 2

countries (those with GNI of between $1000 and $3000.)

Eligible Countries

Institutional Eligibility

• Institutions in the public sector or with a not-for-profit status qualify for free access to the full-text articles in AGORA’s online collection.

Partners• Major Publisher Partners • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations (FAO)• Cornell University, Albert R Mann Library• World Health Organization (WHO)• Yale University• Department for International Development (DFID),

UK• The Rockefeller Foundation• United States Agency for International

Development (USAID)

Founding Publishers• Blackwell Publishing

• CABI

• Elsevier

• Kluwer Academic Publishing

• Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins

• Oxford University Press

• Nature Publishing Group

• Springer Verlag

• John Wiley & Sons

Donors

• Rockefeller Foundation

• U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

• UK’s Department for International Development (DFID)

• In-kind professional support from Cornell University, FAO, and WHO

AGORA Homepage

AGORA Behind the Scenes

• FAO is an international institutional host

• AGORA management shared by:– FAO-WAICENT, which includes AGRIS,

IMARK and FAO Library

– Mann Library, which runs TEEAL and collaborates with ITOCA.

Step 1 Start your web browser

(Internet Explorer or Netscape).

Step 2 Type:http://www.aginternetwork.org in

the “Address” box

Step 3Press “Enter” on the keyboard

or GO

How to Access AGORA

Registration

To register click on registration

Registration

Fill in the form andYou only need to fillIn this once as an

Institution.

Registration

Fill in the form to the endAnd click on send

registration

AGORA: User Agreement

• All registered institutions will sign a User Agreement covering:

– Use of the AGORA password

– Copyright and Fair Use

• Agreement shall be available in the Library

Use of the AGORA Password

• Do Please Share AGORA username and password with colleagues, students, faculties in your institution.

• Do not Share with those from outside the institution.

• Do not Use outside the country.

Copyright and Fair Use• Same as typical copyright and fair use

principles: It is OK, for example, to:– Download or print up to 15% of a journal issue

or book – Use material for educational purposes (course

packs or reserves)– Make copies for institution members or students

• Always credit sources• Be cautious but sensible

Abuse of Publisher Privileges• It is NOT OK to:

– Charge for documents, except for cost recovery for teaching materials

– Post content to websites– Change content– Download all articles from a single issue

• Violations result in the ENTIRE country denied access for up to a week, until the problem is resolved.

Help• Trouble registering or logging on? Technical

issues? Questions about policy or use? Training inquiries?

– For support in Africa, contact ITOCA itoca@itoca.org

– For support elsewhere, email agora@fao.org

Thank you.

Any Questions?