STM publisher Elsevier has announced its collaboration with Berlin's Charité, the Humboldt University (Humboldt-Universität), the Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität) and the Technical University of Berlin (Technische Universität), all part of the Friedrich-Althoff Consortium, to create a comprehensive digital scientific literature infrastructure, 'Archive of Berlin', aimed to further strengthen Berlin as a central location for research.
Through the agreement, all four universities will have access to ScienceDirect, granting them access to more than 2000 scientific publications of Elsevier. As part of the agreement, all participants can decide for which titles they would like to purchase permanent archival rights for once the contract has ended. A new and particularly interesting aspect of the contract is the option of combining these access rights into a shared access archive.
This customised agreement takes into consideration the needs of all four institutions and simultaneously fulfills the Friedrich-Althoff Consortium's objectives. This consortium unites scientific institutions within the region of Berlin/Brandenburg in order to provide their users with scientific information from electronic publications online.
