HEC NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY

The National Digital Library (NDL) program launched in 2003 is one of the main achievements of the HEC. This program provides students, faculty and researchers with access to international scholarly literature based on electronic (online) delivery. The facility is a part of the HEC strategy to address the information needs of researchers/students in institutions across Pakistan. It provides access to high class peer-reviewed journals, databases, books and articles in a variety of disciplines. The great promise of the digital library is the capability it offers for scholars from Pakistan to develop a bond of human interaction with other students and researchers from around the globe Today the National Digital Library is accessible by approximately 400 institutions. The eligibility for access to the information resources is exclusively for institutes recognized by the Higher Education Commission i.e. Public and Private Universities and Degree Awarding Institutes (DAIs). Furthermore, R & D organizations, NGOs, and as well as not-for-profit organizations where primary focus is on either education or research are also provided limited access to the eresources through HEC Digital Library. For more details on eligibility please visit www.digitallibrary.edu.pk/eligibility.html

Features of the National Digital Library Program (NDLP)

Science Online ISI WoS PERii Resources (16) IEEE (33) IOP Elsevier (30)

Commercial

HEC

ASCE

ACS

Wiley-Interscience

Nature Publishing

APS, ASME, AIP,

Highly Centralized Consortium

For a nation that

is facing huge economic challenges, it seems to be an insurmountable obstacle to secure

Misc (adverOsing,

AMS

McGraw Hill

ACM

Ebrary

ESDU (27)

JSTOR

huge loads of funds that are required to provide such sought-after e-contents to its academic and research institutions. This challenge was overcome due to two factors. First the funding was provided completely by the government in order to sustain the initiative. Second, a tight centralized consortium was formed where all negotiations and payments are made at single office i.e. HEC. It serves both HEC and the publishers very well. Publishers gets the volume sales they are usually after like substantial amount of subscribing institutions on the other hand HEC gets huge discounts from the publishers that considerably reduces the overall costs which institutions are forced to pay had they handle it themselves. The figure here shows comparative discounts that HEC gets from some of the publishers.

Electronic database
Through various Electronic databases NDL provides access to its member institutions. The number of full-text journals provided is close to 15,000 and covers multiple disciplines including: Subject specific and multi disciplinary resources Medicine, social sciences and humanities Scholarly database for reference searching.

For a complete list of e-journals (databases) please visit www.digitallibrary.edu.pk/resources.php

Electronic books
To compliment its collection of e-journals, Digital library has also acquired access to a wider variety of e-books collections. Over 60,000 e-books are available to HEC Digital Library members. This include e-books from the following platforms. McGraw Hill Ebrary

Springer

For a complete list of e-books (databases) please visit www.digitallibrary.edu.pk/books.php

British Library Document Supply Centre

Digital Library has been providing requisite articles, which are not available in the e-resources of HEC Digital Library, through an understanding with British Library. Until early 2008 these requesting documents were being supplied in print format which usually took approximately 2 weeks to be delivered. Since March 2008 Digital Library started the electronic delivery of these documents from British Library. The delivery time has been reduced from 2 weeks to 1-2 days. This arrangement helps a great deal as the researchers in Pakistan can benefit from huge resources of British Library. It provides access to documents from a database of over 20,000 key research journals, to article title level. Plus, over 16,000 conferences are added each year.

Open Access Resource

Beside the subscriptions of e-journals and e-books some quality resources are available through Open Access. These resources are freely available and unlike subscribed resources, require no special arrangements for access. Digital Library is always evaluating these resources and adding them under Open Access on its website.

Other links
Other links include PAK Research Repository, IEEE Computer Society, C&EN for ACS Members, Scientific Search, Engines, Free Medical Journals, SciDev.Net

Trainings
To ensure that its member institutions are properly utilizing e-resources, Digital
D igital Library 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Library conducts various trainings across Pakistan. Initially the trainings were focused on the e-journals. However, from 2007 trainings programme on e-books has been initiated as well. Digital Library resources persons visit universities/institutions to conduct these sessions.

Awareness W orkshops

12

17

23

29

55

44

30

Furthermore, Digital Library has also started to host subjects-specific specialized workshops based on where a renowned foreign specialist trainer was invited to conduct an intensive workshop for the select participants. First of such workshop organized was on Health Science during 2008 where a team of expert in health Science from Sweden conducted the workshop. It proved to be a huge success and has been repeated once again during early 2010. Integrated Library Management Systems was another topic on which HEC Digital Library organized two workshops during 2009, facilitated by a foreign expert, to reinvigorate the librarian community in the country. For both these subject specific workshops the results have been overwhelming to say the least which reflects the insatiable desire among the scholarly community in Pakistan to enhance their ability and strengthen the institutions they represent. Digital Library is also going to launch a new concept of training programme in Pakistan. Some key publishers will be invited to Pakistan to conduct simultaneous trainings sessions based on their products. A considerable number of participants will be invited from various universities to take benefit of this opportunity and get firsthand orientation by the publishers/content-providers of information themselves. It is expected that this opportunity where information seeker and information delivery are at same place will result in a great learning experience for all.

Impact
According to the Thomson-Reuters Institute of Scientific Information (U.S.), the total research output appearing in the 8,000 leading journals indexed in the Web of Science emanating from Pakistan in 2009 was 4013 which represents a 500% increase from 815 publications in the year 2002.

Research Output-Pakistan (ISI Web of Knowledge)

Research Output from Pakistan

5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

200 2
Publication s

200 3 948

200 4 1038

200 5 1306

200 6 1759

815

200 7 249 4

200 8 363 9

200 9 4013

2010 4651

Table 1.1

Market share
Due to the efforts of HEC, Pakistans market share of world publication has increased rapidly from 0.1 % in 2002 to 0.21% in 2009.

0.9 0.8 0.7

0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 % of Region

% of World

0.1 0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

% of R egion 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 0.61 0.58 0.6 0.66 0.72 0.76 0.80 0.81

% of W orld 0.1 0.11 0.11 0.14 0.17 0.18 0.20 0.21

Downloaded items
Due to continuously increasing downloads the cost per downloaded article decreased significantly from US $2.30 to US$ 1.17. This represent nearly 50% decrease in cost per article since the year 2004.

Downloaded Ar9cles
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Articles Downloaded (In Millions)

2004 0.39

2005 1

2006 2.4

2007 3.2

2008 4.53

2009 5.8

2010 7.2

The download patterns shown above reveal that all institutions across Pakistan are extensively utilizing the e-contents for their research work. The research work is produced in the form of research publications. For determining premium research publications the databases of Web of Science are utilized. To further investigate which type of institutions are contributing what to the national research output, a snapshot of the publications produced in the year 2010 was taken into consideration. The collection and compilation of data revealed that academic institutions are making the most out of the support extended by Higher Education Commission. Here, the publication share of the year 2010 is being drawn out.

Pakistan (All Types) Academic Institutions Others

4651 3764 888 80.92% 19.09%

Published Items

For an in-depth analysis of the history of research output originating from Pakistan, a comparison between eight years prior to HEC and a similar time span since HEC was carried out. The output was a revelation, as a true picture of impact of HEC on the research culture of Pakistan was emerged. For the Pre-HEC nine-year period (1993-2001), a total of 5,548 articles were published whereas during the post-HEC nine-year period (2002-2010), a total of 20,663 articles were published. This reflects a staggering increase of over 270% since HEC started to revamp tertiary education in Pakistan.

5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 1993 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 2010

Pre - HEC

Post - HEC

199 4

199 5

199 6

199 7

199 8

199 9

2000

2001

2002

200 3

200 4

200 5

200 6

200 7

200 8

200 9

201 0

Publicatio ns

518

620

599

629

668

682

638

636

815

948

1038

1306

1759

249 4

363 9

4013

465 1

Research Patterns in the Universities

In the past 4 years the research environment started to grow in the universities across Pakistan. Digital Library played a pivotal role for this activity by providing quality scholarly resources to the universities. A quick look at the Table 1.2 shows that the increase in the research output by the universities has been sharply increasing in this duration. Universities/DAIs 2007 2008 2009 2010

Top Research Conducting Universities/Institutions 2007 - 2010 (Minimum 50 publications)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad Aga Khan University, Karachi University of Karachi, Karachi University of The Punjab, Lahore University of Agriculture, Faisalabad COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad Govt. College University, Lahore University of Sargodha, Sargodha National University of Science & Technology, Islamabad University of Peshawar, Peshawar Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan PMAS University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi DOW University of Health Sciences, Karachi Pakistan Institute of Engg & Applied Sciences, Islamabad University of Sind, Jamshoro Islamia University, Bahawalpur NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore Govt. College University, Faisalabad University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Lahore Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore Kohat University of Science & Technology, Kohat

409 186 276 162 252 92 97 38 48 77 50 49 11 54 59 22 20 38 0 11 19 6

544 311 419 278 310 149 154 115 92 97 92 87 49 73 105 40 29 55 0 26 27 23

545 345 365 269 372 199 282 151 114 131 123 83 55 70 96 75 46 52 8 101 42 26

548 416 387 352 340 237 230 174 150 137 133 113 94 88 86 84 82 79 76 71 64 63

23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39.

Hazara University, Dodhial Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology, Islamabad University of Baluchistan, Quetta Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro International Islamic University, Islamabad GIK Institute of Engineering Science & Technology, Topi Lahore College for Women University, Lahore Gomal University, D.I.Khan Ziauddin Medical University, Karachi University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad University of Malakand, Chakdara University of Health Sciences, Lahore Baqai Medical University, Karachi King Edward Medical University, Lahore University of Engineering & Technology, Taxila Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam

0 7 28 6 5 16 7 12 7 13 9 6 5 11 12 13 12

17 26 40 9 21 46 19 24 24 15 12 9 14 22 23 15 18

22 31 53 17 22 36 19 32 21 16 9 15 12 14 16 16 17

55 52 49 48 47 45 43 38 37 35 32 31 25 24 24 21 17

Pre-HEC Established Universities/DAIs Post-HEC Established Universities/DAIs

Table 1.2 In the Table 1.2, out of the mentioned Top 39 institutions 18 were established prior to HEC was formed while the rest of 20 institutions were established after HEC was

formed. This overwhelmingly reflects that the new universities/DAIs sprouting up in the country, are ready for the task and bridging the gap between themselves and the more established institutions in leaps and bounds. It will be interesting to carry out a similar analysis in next 2-3 years to see how the new and older institutions stack up in terms of producing research publications with similar criteria. The research output from established universities from 2007 to 2010 was like this

Universities/DAIs 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad Aga Khan University, Karachi University of Karachi, Karachi University of The Punjab, Lahore University of Agriculture, Faisalabad University of Peshawar, Peshawar Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan University of Sind, Jamshoro Islamia University, Bahawalpur 409 186 276 162 252 77 50 59 22 544 311 419 278 310 97 92 105 40 29 55 27 40 46 24 15 12 15 18 2477 545 345 365 269 372 131 123 96 75 46 52 42 53 36 32 16 9 16 17 2640 548 416 387 352 340 137 133 86 84 82 79 64 49 45 38 35 32 21 17 2945

NWFP Agricultural University, 20 Peshawar University of Engineering & Technology, 38 Lahore Lahore University of Management Sciences, 19 Lahore University of Baluchistan, Quetta 28 GIK Institute of Engineering Science & 16 Technology, Topi Gomal University, D.I.Khan University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad 12 13 9

University of Engineering & Technology, 13 Taxila Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam Total 12 1673

While the new universities fared against their established counterpart in the same duration like this

Universities/DAIs 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad Govt. College University, Lahore University of Sargodha, Sargodha National University of Science & Technology, Islamabad PMAS University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi DOW University of Health Sciences, Karachi Pakistan Institute of Engg & Applied Sciences, Islamabad Govt. College University, Faisalabad University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Lahore Kohat University of Science & Technology, Kohat Hazara University, Dodhial Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology, Islamabad Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro International Islamic University, Islamabad Lahore College for Women University, Lahore Ziauddin Medical University, Karachi University of Malakand, Chakdara University of Health Sciences, Lahore Baqai Medical University, Karachi King Edward Medical University, Lahore Total

2007 92 97 38 48 49 11 54 0 11 6 0 7 6 5 7 7 6 5 11 12 472

2008 149 154 115 92 87 49 73 0 26 23 17 26 9 21 19 24 9 14 22 23 952

2009 199 282 151 114 83 55 70 8 101 26 22 31 17 22 19 21 15 12 14 16 1278

2010 237 230 174 150 113 94 88 76 71 63 55 52 48 47 43 37 31 25 24 24 1682

3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 2007 2008 2009 2010

Old New

The comparison above is an indicator of the contributions of the academic institutions, both old and new, towards the overall research output from the country. While the older institutions are churning out steady numbers, the newly established institutions are producing exponentially increasing numbers and catching up fast on their senior counterparts. This forms a healthy competitive environment within the academic community of the country where everybody wins. This has been the impact that HEC is imprinted on the academic and research culture of Pakistan in a short spam of nine years. The decades of neglect has been significantly wiped out during these nine years and have aligned the country to compete with far more developed countries than Pakistan. It is imperative that efforts of Higher Education Commission are very well supported, especially by the Government of Pakistan, to empower its people and make them drive the engine of socio-economic development for the prosperity of the country.