EIFL IS BORN

EIFL (originally called eIFL.net) is created as an initiative of the Open Society

Institute (OSI), now Open Society Foundations (OSF), a private grant

making foundation that is part of the Soros Foundation.

January 1, 1999

WORKS WITH LIBRARIES IN CENTRAL AND

EASTERN EUROPE

Begins working with

libraries in Central and

Eastern Europe and the

former Soviet Union.

January 1, 1999

NEGOTIATES FIRST LICENCE

Negotiates first licence to provide

access to e-journals. An agreement

was signed with EBSCO Publishing

to provide access to five databases

that contained more than 3,500 full-

text journals .

October 25, 1999

BEGINS BUILDING LIBRARY CONSORTIA

Begins building a network of

library consortia. Library

consortia are groups of libraries

that share common goals. A

consortium is able to speak with

one voice to stakeholders,

policymakers and funders.

January 1, 2000

EXPANDS TO SOUTHERN AFRICA

Begins working with

libraries in southern

Africa.

January 1, 2001

SIGNS THE BUDAPEST OPEN ACCESS

DECLARATION

EIFL was one of the original signatories for the Budapest Open Access

Initiative, which first coined the term "Open Access".

February 14, 2002

EXPANDS TO WEST AFRICA

Begins working with libraries in west Africa. Nigeria was the first

country where EIFL organized a library consortium building event.

July 9, 2002

HOSTS FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

First annual knowledge-sharing event is held in St.Petersburg, Russia.

November 29, 2002

GAINS NOT-FOR-PROFIT STATUS

Registers as a not-for-profit organisation (Stichting eIFL.net) in the

Netherlands with its operational seat in Rome, Italy.

January 29, 2003

OPEN ACCESS PROGRAMME IS ESTABLISHED

The programme removes barriers to knowledge sharing by advocating

for the adoption of open access (OA) policies and mandates, and by

building the capacity to launch and sustain OA repositories and

journals.

May 1, 2003

EXPANDS TO SOUTHEAST AND EAST ASIA

Begins working with libraries in southeast and east Asia. The first

event was organized in Cambodia, followed by Laos and China.

August 13, 2003

EXPANDS TO NORTH AFRICA

Begins working with libraries in north Africa. Sudan was

the first country in the region to join the EIFL network.

November 3, 2003

FIRST OPEN ACCESS EVENT

First open access

event is held (South

Africa). The conference

was a one-day

programme to

introduce the OA model

in South Africa and

was hosted by SASLI

and EIFL/OSI.

July 1, 2004

COPYRIGHT AND LIBRARIES

PROGRAMME IS ESTABLISHED

The programme advocates for national and international copyright

law reform, and supports librarians to become advocates for a fair

copyright system. The first regional meeting took place in Uganda.

January 1, 2005

FIRST LIBRARIAN FROM AFRICA

PARTICIPATES AT WIPO

Dick Kawooya, first librarian from Africa participates in copyright

negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

EXPANDS TO THE MIDDLE EAST

Begins working with libraries in the Middle East. The first workshops

were held in the Palestinian territories (Gaza and West Bank) and

Jordan.

July 10, 2005

OBSERVER STATUS

AT WIPO

Gains permanent observer

status at the World

Intellectual Property

Organization, a specialized

agency of the United

Nations. Observers are

invited to attend formal

meetings of member states.

September 26, 2005

FIRST OPEN ACCESS INSTITUTIONAL

REPOSITORY LAUNCHED

First open access

institutional repository (IR)

is launched through EIFL’s

support in an EIFL-partner

country (University of

Zimbabwe).

November 1, 2005

FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

PROGRAMME IS ESTABLISHED

The programme improves

library technology by

encouraging the use of free

and open source

software (FOSS) in libraries

and fostering a network

of FOSS champions in our

partner countries. Experts in

FOSS came together for the

kick off meeting in Italy.

October 29, 2006

EXPANDS TO EAST AFRICA

Begins working with libraries in east Africa.

Kenya was the first country to join the

EIFL network.

January 1, 2008

EXPANDS TO SOUTH ASIA

Begins work with libraries in south Asia. Nepal was the first country to join

the EIFL network in the region.

March 1, 2008

RECEIVES OFFICIAL PARTNER

STATUS AT UNESCO

Official partnership status is

granted to EIFL in cooperation with

the The United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO). It consists in a mutual

engagement to cooperate and work

together in the Organization’s fields

of competence.

January 8, 2009

PUBLIC LIBRARY INNOVATION

PROGRAMME IS ESTABLISHED

The programme advances community development

by enabling public libraries to implement innovative

ideas that use technology to improve people’s lives and

livelihoods.

September 2, 2009

FOUNDING MEMBER OF CONFEDERATION OF

OPEN ACCESS REPOSITORIES

Joins other organisations in

founding COAR

(Confederation of Open

Access Repositories). COAR

aims to enable every citizen in

the world to get access to –

and be able to benefit from –

knowledge produced from

publicly-funded research.

October 21, 2009

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Celebrates ten years at the General Assembly, which was

hosted by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt.

November 18, 2009

EXPANDS TO OCEANIA

Begins working with libraries in Oceania. Fiji was the

first country in the region to join the EIFL network.

May 13, 2013

15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Today we mark 15 years at the General Assembly in Istanbul.

November 10, 2014

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!