OAI4 is sponsored and organised by:

Sponsors

Ex Libris (www.exlibrisgroup.com)
Ex Libris is a leading worldwide developer and provider of high-performance applications for libraries, information centers, and researchers. ALEPH, the Ex Libris integrated library solution, has been installed at more than 1250 sites and consortia in over 51 countries. MetaLib®, the information portal for library collections, and SFX®, the context-sensitive linking solution for heterogeneous electronic resources in the scholarly information environment, have collectively been purchased by more than 725 institutions in 36 countries. DigiTool, a solution for the construction of digital collections, and Verde, the new electronic resource management (ERM) system, round out the Ex Libris product suite.

JISC (http://www.jisc.ac.uk/)
The JISC is a joint committee of the UK further and higher education funding bodies, and is responsible for supporting the innovative use of information and communication technology (ICT) to support learning, teaching, and research. It is best known for providing the JANET network, a range of advice and support services, and a portfolio of high-quality resources. The JISC is funding a range of activities that support open access, including SHERPA, and a new Digital Repositories development programme. Information about the JISC, its services and programmes can be found at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/.

OSI (http://www.soros.org/initiatives/information/about)
further details below.

SHERPA (http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/)
SHERPA is investigating issues in the future of scholarly communication and publishing. In particular, it is developing open-access institutional repositories in a number of research universities. These eprint repositories or archives facilitate the worldwide rapid and efficient dissemination of research findings.

SPARC and SPARC Europe (http://www.arl.org/sparc, http://www.sparceurope.org/)
further details below.

Organisers

CERN Library (http://library.cern.ch/)
CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the world's largest particle physics centre. The Scientific Information Service (currently the DSU-SI group) has for its mandate the management of the Library and the Historical and Scientific Archives of CERN. The CERN Library not only acquires and manages information resources in all fields of relevance to the Organization, but it also makes these accessible in the most convenient way to the worldwide particle physics community. The CERN Library has acquired considerable expertise in the area of e-prints management.

LIBER: Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche (http://www.kb.dk/liber/)
LIBER is a non-governmental association of the research libraries of Europe, formed under the auspices of the Council of Europe and having the status of a consultative body with that Council. LIBER represents and promotes the interests of research libraries of Europe. The general aim of LIBER is to assist research libraries in Europe to become a functional network across national boundaries in order to ensure the preservation of the European cultural heritage, to improve access to collections in European research libraries and to provide more efficient information services in Europe.

Open Archives Initiative (OAI) (http://www.openarchives.org/).
The OAI develops and promotes interoperability standards that aim to facilitate the efficient dissemination of content. The Open Archives Initiative has its roots in an effort to enhance access to e-print archives as a means of increasing the availability of scholarly communication.

The Open Society Institute's Information Program promotes the equitable deployment of knowledge and communications resources - providing access to content, tools, and networks - for civic empowerment and effective democratic governance. The Program focuses on seven areas: internet policy; technology support for civil society organizations and networks; Information Communication Technologies (ICT) Toolsets; library consortia for developing countries (EIFL); open access to research literature; intellectual property; citizen-government communication; and translations.

SPARC and SPARC Europe
SPARC and SPARC Europe are international alliances of research institutions, libraries and organizations that encourage competition in the scholarly communications market. SPARC and SPARC Europe aim to introduce new solutions and models to scientific journal publishing, facilitate the use of technology to expand access, and partner with publishers that bring top-quality, low-cost research to a greater audience. SPARC and SPARC Europe strive to return the scholarly literature to scholars.

SPARC Europe has over 100 members in 14 European countries, while SPARC has over 200 members, mainly in North America.

For more information: sparc@arl.org

...And in particular, the OAI4 organising committee.