VHL News Network

CRICS8: converging innovation in information, knowledge and health

With the main theme "Information and Scientific Knowledge for Innovation in Health", the 8th Regional Congress on Health Sciences Information (CRICS8), will be held in the city of Rio de Janeiro, on September 16-19, 2008. Its scientific program will address the major contemporary themes related to democratization of access to information and exchang of scientific knowledge on health. The 5th Regional Coordination Meeting of the Virtual Health Library (VHL5) will take place just before the CRICS8 and will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the VHL. A total of 800 participants are expected in the congress and there are approximately 400 papers approved. Information and scientific communication professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean will actively participate in the event. In each meeting CRICS consolidates as one of the most important international congresses of scientific and technical information on health
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Increased number and impact of Latin American journals in the Web of Science

Thomson Reuters aims to enhance its collection of most important and influential international journals in the Web of Science (WoS). According to a recent announcement, the organization developed a process to expand its selection criteria for indexing journals in the network of sources of information and included what it considered the best regional journals. The initiative resulted in the inclusion of a number of journals with important contents to foster visibility of and accessibility to the Latin American and Caribbean scientific production, representing an increase by 100% in the collection from this region. Furthermore, there has been a notable rise in the impact factor of journals measured by the number of citations received. Most journals are part of the SciELO Collection
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SciELO is on the current European debate about scientific publication market

In addition to contributing to the Iberian American scientific production, the SciELO model, established over ten years ago, has been included in the European debate about open access in a study prepared by the European Commission. The document analyzes the scientific publication market and measures to improve access, exchange, dissemination and archiving of scientific works, and has become a reference for the current discussion in the continent. The advantages and challenges of adopting an open access system for scientific publications are controversial, but indicate their impact on strategic decisions made by the Commission
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VHL and SciELO Spain under consolidation

The Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and BIREME/PAHO/WHO concluded the first semester of 2008 with new developments in the technical cooperation program for the year, primarily aiming to improve and consolidate the VHL Spain and the SciELO Spain collection. The initiative is part of the Joint Action Plan involving PAHO/WHO, the Agencia Española de Cooperación International (AECI), the Ministry of Health and Consumption of Spain (MSC) and the ISCIII. The advances include updating the collections available, technical improvements in the portals, as well as meetings with the participants of both scientific and technical information networks to follow-up and achieve their objectives
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VHL sources of information motivate training in El Salvador

The 1st Meeting of Central American and Caribbean Countries on Documental Information on Health, was held in San Salvador, El Salvador, on July 14-18, as part of the celebrations of the 15th anniversary of the Renids (Red Nacional de Información Documental en Salud). The event was also an opportunity to train information and informatics professionals from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Puerto Rico. BIREME/PAHO/WHO supported the program through capacity-building activities related to the VHL sources of information focused on quality information and evidence on health
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ScienTI Network formalizes international cooperation agreement

As another important step in the development of the ScienTI (International Network of Information and Knowledge Sources for Science, Technology and Innovation Management), a formal agreement has been signed by 11 representatives from Iberian American countries. Hence, the participants - national and international science and technology agencies - emphasize the relevance of the initiative and its main commitment to develop a space to manage scientific activities and technological innovation. BIREME promotes the interoperability of ScienTI with other regional networks, such as the VHL and SciELO
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