Elsevier and Royal Tropical Institute Sign 5 Year Memorandum of Understanding to Provide ScienceDirect and Scopus to 150 Developing Country Researchers

MoU Drives Research Usage and Access with Virtual Knowledge Community

AMSTERDAM, August 27, 2010 - Elsevier and the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in Amsterdam announced on
26th of August the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) providing
150 researchers working in least-developed and low-income countries (for
example Benin, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Togo etc.) with access to ScienceDirect
and Scopus, Elsevier's online scientific research platform and flagship
abstract and citation database. Active in fields such as tropical medicine
and sustainable development, the scientists are able to apply the information
available in ScienceDirect and Scopus to the treatment and prevention of
diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; promoting rural
development with improved water, sanitation and food security in addition to
other areas relevant to the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Elsevier and KIT's department Information & Library Service (KIT ILS) in
Amsterdam are collaborating on this unique public-private partnership to
drive capacity building in information technology and management in the
developing world. The new agreement will expand access for five years while
sharing best practice in research and training.

As an integral part of this initiative, KIT ILS facilitates a closed
Virtual Knowledge Community on information management to share best research
practices and identify issues of common interest. First piloted in 2007, this
joint Elsevier - KIT initiative provides the Virtual Knowledge Community
members in African, Caribbean, Asian and Pacific countries with access to
ScienceDirect's 10 million full-text articles and Scopus' abstract and
citation database containing 18,000 peer-reviewed journals from 5,000
publishers.

"Elsevier and KIT have a long and productive relationship. The
continuation of this initiative provides our partners in the South with
access to a wealth of information that is directly relevant to their
research. The association of the program with the Elsevier Foundation and
Research4Life provides both recognition and sustainability. It is a privilege
for KIT ILS to act as an intermediary in a co-operative effort that so
closely matches our departmental and institutional goals," said Hans van
Hartevelt, Director of KIT Information & Library Services. Jan Donner, CEO of
KIT agrees: "This is a unique project which definitely matches our
institutional goals. We are very proud that we can realize this together with
Elsevier as an innovative co-partner."

"We are very happy to support the critical work that the Royal Tropical
Institute is doing to drive access, usage and authorship in key developing
world institutes, bringing key researchers closer to their peers and
individual research communities around the world," said David Ruth, Executive
Director of the Elsevier Foundation and Senior Vice President Global
Communications, Elsevier. "This carefully targeted initiative is part of our
overall effort with Research4Life and the Elsevier Foundation, to provide
clinicians, researchers and policymakers in the developing world with access
to the information they need to address critical health and sustainability
challenges."

"Good news, extension of access to ScienceDirect and Scopus for five more
years. I have been using ScienceDirect to obtain articles for our scientists
and this is having a very positive impact on our research. For instance, our
output of publications has continued to increase, thanks to access to many
journal titles in ScienceDirect." Thomas Adigun, Head Librarian, Africa Rice
Center, Cotonou, Benin.

"ScienceDirect is our sole full-text, up-to-date scientific database to
which we have access. Our researchers have greatly benefited from it and it
has become an essential source of information for us." Rose May Ng Kee Kwong,
Librarian, MSIRI, Mauritius.

About the Royal Tropical Institute

The Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) (www.kit.nl) in Amsterdam is an
independent centre of knowledge and expertise in the areas of international
and intercultural cooperation contributing to sustainable development,
poverty alleviation and cultural preservation and exchange. KIT operates
internationally through development projects, scientific research and
training, and also provides consultancy and information services. The
Institute is a not-for-profit organization that works for both the public and
the private sector in collaboration with partners in the Netherlands and
abroad.

About KIT ILS

KIT ILS specializes in supplying information services to users in the
Netherlands and works with partners in developing countries to build their
capacity in the field of information and library services. The Library's
collection is one of the largest in Europe in the field of rural development,
health and culture in the tropics and sub-tropics (see:
www.kit.nl/eCache/FAB/1/707.html for a complete list of KIT Library
resources). The department provides access to information not only through
its reading room and lending service, but also through a Selective
Dissemination of Information (SDI) service for approx. 200 organizations in
ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) countries, document delivery services,
Internet specials on topical issues, information portals on themes such as
rural innovation systems, laboratory quality strengthening and maternal
health. KIT ILS has recently contracted with a major humanitarian
organization for the provision of a tailor-made information service.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and
medical information products and services. The company works in partnership
with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000
journals, including The Lancet (www.thelancet.com) and Cell
(www.cell.com), and close to 20,000 book titles, including major
reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include
ScienceDirect (www.sciencedirect.com), Scopus (www.scopus.com),
Reaxys (www.reaxys.com), MD Consult (www.mdconsult.com) and
Nursing Consult (www.nursingconsult.com), which enhance the
productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite
(www.scival.com) and MEDai's Pinpoint Review (www.medai.com),
which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more
cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier (
www.elsevier.com) employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part
of Reed Elsevier Group PLC (www.reedelsevier.com), a world-leading
publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier
PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam),
REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

In addition to the Elsevier Foundation's Innovative Libraries program
which provides over $ 200,000 in annual grants supporting STM library
capacity building projects, Elsevier is the founding partner and the leading
contributor of STM content to Research4Life, a unique public-private
partnership. Research4Life is the collective name for three unique
public-private partnerships - HINARI, AGORA and OARE - which aim to help
achieve the Millennium Development Goals by providing the developing world
with free or very low-cost access to critical scientific and social science
research.

    Media contacts

    Royal Tropical Institute (KIT)

    Mr. Chang Wong
    Corporate Communication
    P.O. Box 95001
    1090 HA Amsterdam
    The Netherlands
    Telephone: +31-(0)20-568-82-96
    Email: c.wong@kit.nl

    Elsevier

    Ms. Ylann Schemm
    Corporate Relations Manager
    Telephone: +31-(0)20-485-20-25
    Mobile phone: +31-(0)6-23-98-23-59
    Email: y.schemm@elsevier.com or newsroom@elsevier.com

Media contacts: Royal Tropical Institute (KIT): Mr. Chang Wong, Corporate Communication, P.O. Box 95001, 1090 HA Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Telephone: + 31-(0)20-568-82-96, Email: c.wong at kit.nl; Elsevier: Ms. Ylann Schemm, Corporate Relations Manager, Telephone: +31-(0)20-485-20-25, Mobile phone: +31-(0)6-23-98-23-59, Email: y.schemm at elsevier.com or newsroom at elsevier.com