Dhaka, Dec. 9, 2015
Cornell University’s Albert R. Mann Library is one of the largest repositories of agriculture resources in the world. The Mann Library established TEEAL (The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library) in 1999, a collection of important journals, globally relevant but not accessed hitherto widely accessible by the developing regions of the world to specifically strengthen the knowledge in agriculture and to empower students and faculty with scientific literature access with support from major donors and funding agencies. TEEAL as a world class digital knowledge repository, is searchable, offline database, containing over 350 reference journals and more than 450,000 full text PDF articles covering agriculture related disciplines from 90 plus leading publishers. With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and in cooperation with Sathguru Management Consultants, TEEAL sets are being placed in universities and research institutions in Bangladesh and training is being provided in the use of electronic research journals and articles.
TEEAL’s searchable database offers direct access to full-text materials without internet connectivity and is easy to install and use. TEEAL is compatible with a standalone computer or multiple user workstations and is highly recommended for use on local area networks.
Currently 10 institutes in Bangladesh have already received TEEAL including Sher E Bangla University of Agriculture ( SAU), National Institute of Biotechnology (NIB) Soil Resource and Development Institute (SRDI), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) and over 300 researchers, academicians, librarians and students have been trained on the use of this database.
UGC of Bangladesh has been actively involved in country’s digitization projects related to higher education, such as Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS), UGC Digital Library ( UDL ) and more.In continuing such efforts, UGC has taken a lead in facilitating the license agreement signing between TEEAL and 8 leading universities of Bangladesh. This initiative will provide TEEAL access to more than 55,000 students and 3000+ researchers and faculty members.
On this occasion Professor Abdul Mannan, Chairman, UGC said , “Teachers, researchers and students of the universities will play important role in the development of the country by devoting themselves in agriculture and fisheries related research activities supported by use of TEEAL.”
Also, Joy Paulson, Director, TEEAL Project said “The TEEAL Project is very pleased for the opportunity to be able to support the placement of TEEAL sets in eligible institutions in Bangladesh and to provide the opportunity for training in the use of e-resources in partnership with Sathguru Management Consultants. It is our hope that greater access to agricultural research literature will lead to agricultural innovations, increased research, and increased opportunities for scholars from Bangladesh to more fully participate in the global agricultural research community”.
Speaking about TEEAL, Mr K. Vijayraghavan, Chairman of Sathguru Management Consultants, which is the regional coordinator for TEEAL said, “Research and innovation will be key drivers for Bangladesh to transform its agriculture. The TEEAL support to the Bangladesh Agriculture Universities will provide access to global knowledge resources and help researchers and students to adopt innovation and its application towards transforming Bangladesh agriculture”
TEEAL was founded on the belief that long-term improvements in food security and agricultural development would not be possible without giving scientists better access to current research. It is a searchable, offline, digital
