Increasing Access, Increasing Innovation: ABC (Acceso a Bibliografía Científica) in Panama

Abstract

Increasing Access, Increasing Innovation: ABC (Acceso a Bibliografía Científica) in Panama Access to scientific literature remains key for propelling education, research, and development (R&D), as well as decision-making processes in developing countries. In 2013, Panama’s National Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation (SENACYT) developed ABC (Acceso a Bibliografia Cientifica). This project aligns with SENACYT’s recent launch of the National Policy of Science, Technology, and Innovation and National Strategic Plan 2015-2019. Through the project, SENACYT acquired access to 1,714 journals from Elsevier, which are available through ScienceDirect. Starting in the second full year, sixteen health and academic organizations in Panama participate in the project. To measure user demographics, research interests, and their satisfaction experience with ABC, and to compare the use of ABC versus open access literature, a survey tool was developed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from ABC users. This poster will describe the creation of ABC, its features, and usage statistics since January 2014. It will also present the survey tool and initial findings. Survey results will be described using descriptive statistics with bivariate and multivariate regression models. Our findings highlight the role of reinforcing national strategies for information access as a model to improve education, R&D in the Latin American region and worldwide.