SLJOL to make local research findings free and open

By Himal Kotelawala

The Sri Lanka Journal Online (SLJOL), a country specific online journal database that makes Sri Lankan research available nationally and internationally free of charge was officially launched recently.

With over 18,000 views each month SLJOL (www.sljol.info) functions as a platform for academic excellence and research from Sri Lanka, hosting over 60 peer-reviewed journals that cover a wide range of academic disciplines from architecture to children’s health.

Initiated in 2008, SLJOL showcases a number of unique features and aims at putting Sri Lanka and its research on the global map by providing access to tables of contents (TOCs), abstracts and full text on the internet. The project is managed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is supported by the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publication (INASP). 

SLJOL was declared formally open in the presence of Minister of Science and Technology Susil Premajayantha at a ceremony that saw the participation of a number of scientists and researches as well as editors of some of the journals featured on the platform.

Speaking at the event, Minister Premajayantha said that the print medium is increasingly giving way to the electronic form of materials and has revolutionised the way scholarly information is accessed.

“It is said that the transition from print to electronic medium, apart from resulting in a growth of electronic information has provided users with new tools and application for information seeking and retrieval,” he said.

The issue at hand, he said, is no one knows who owns the country’s knowledge because it’s held by foreign publishers. It’s a critical situation that needs to be discussed, he added.

“One solution to this was provided by SLJOL. It’s a great opportunity to scholars in accessing research information and opening up knowledge free of cost. The emergence of this new paradigm of open access and development of electronic information resources and publications can open a new era to the intellectual world,” he said.

According to Program Manager of Journals Online, INASP, UK, Sioux Cumming who also spoke at the event, among the objectives of SLJOL are to ensure that research is freely available to all citizens in the global community and that state-funded research outputs can be published locally and is available to anyone that needs it.

“Improved quality of local journals enhances the reputation of local research,” she said.