Cathey Daniels, (865) 576-9539
October 14, 2008
China Joins WorldWideScience Alliance
Oak Ridge, TN - The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) today announced that the People's Republic of China has joined the WorldWideScience Alliance–the multilateral governance structure for the global science gateway, WorldWideScience.org. WorldWideScience.org is intended to accelerate international scientific progress by serving as a single, sophisticated point of access for diverse scientific resources and expertise from nations around the world. The addition of China is a notable milestone, as it is a major global contributor to scientific knowledge.
"WorldWideScience.org is a powerful tool for enhanced scientific communication, tying scientific databases from many countries together and placing them at the fingertips of scientists and researchers across the globe," DOE Under Secretary for Science Dr. Raymond L. Orbach said. "Facilitating global scientific inquiry, through WorldWideScience.org, will help accelerate scientific progress."
On June 12, 2008, the Alliance was formally established as representatives of 38 countries signed the Alliance's founding document. The Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (ISTIC), a component of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, will represent China in the Alliance.
WorldWideScience.org enables anyone with Internet access to launch a single-query search of 375 million pages of scientific and technical information in databases and portals from over 50 countries, covering six continents and three quarters of the world's population. China, a major producer of journals and conference proceedings, is offering searches of key Chinese English-language scientific literature through WorldWideScience.org. The Chinese resource enables searching of over 6,000 journals. ISTIC will consider the addition of more Chinese sources to WorldWideScience.org after a successful test period.
DOE's Office of Science, through (OSTI), serves as the Operating Agent for WorldWideScience.org. For more information, visit: http://www.energy.gov/news/6336.htm.
In addition to nationally sponsored member organizations, the WorldWideScience Alliance is sponsored by the International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI).