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4. Publication And Documentation

4.1 Published Works

Apart from the regular issues of the journal (EASSRR, vol. 16, nos. 1 & 2) and the OSSREA Newsletter (vol. 18, nos. 1-3), OSSREA produced the following publications in the year 2000 (January - December inclusive):

4.2 Publications under Preparation

The preparation of the Register has been delayed because of inadequate response from both social scientists and liaison officers. However, all the information on the revised biodata forms has now been put on the computer and the draft copy is being edited for publication. So far, some 45 scientists have revised and resubmitted their biodata.

OSSREA has finalized its preparations for publishing on CD-ROM several of its publications produced between 1980 and 1999 and available in soft copies. The work of editing the Master Copy has now been completed, and an agreement has been made with Janus Musiek of South Africa for the production of 1500 CD copies. The production work is expected to be completed in April 2001 and copies will be distributed to universities, research centres, and interested researchers at a reasonable price. This CD-ROM publication titled "OSSREA on CD" is hoped to serve as a useful reference source for individual researchers and libraries of academic and research institutions.

The proceedings will have two volumes, i.e., Vol. I: Economics & Politics; Vol. II: Environment, Education, Culture & Gender. About 75% of the work of editing the papers has already been done while the editorial work for the remaining papers is expected to be completed before the end of the year 2001. The editorial work was delayed because authors were slow in sending the soft copies of their papers and/or in revising their papers as per the editors' suggestions.

4.3 Promotion and Marketing of Publications

OSSREA took part in the ZIBF 2000 held in Harare from 29th July to 5th August 2000. OSSREA's bookstand was visited by over 350 visitors, a number of whom showed a positive appreciation for its publications, bought several publications and expressed an interest in exchanging publications. One major outcome of OSSREA's participation in ZIBF 2000 is the establishment of contacts with some notable organizations such as:

The first ever OSSREA Book Day was held from 9-12 October 2000 at the headquarters of the OSSREA Secretariat in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the week-long event, copies of all OSSREA publications produced since the 1980s were displayed in an attractive format. The main aims of the objective were: promoting OSSREA's publications among the academic and research community, development practitioners, and policy makers so as to enhance the use of these publications; Giving greater visibility to OSSREA's research-related activities and thereby attracting new members and research partners; and to enhance the sale of the publications. Over a hundred visitors from various locally-based higher education institutions, national and international research organisations and NGOs, multilateral and regional organisations, government agencies as well as the general public came to see the book display. The feedback received from the visitors was positive and encouraging. Therefore, OSSREA intends to hold such a Book Day every year and possibly replicate it in other member countries where OSSREA's Liaison Officers are based.

OSSREA has also used the forums of workshops and conferences for displaying and selling its publications. In the year 2000, these included 13 workshops and conferences organised by OSSREA either independently or jointly and conducted within its premise as well as in major hotels in Addis Ababa. OSSREA also took the opportunity to display and sell its publications at the 14th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies held in Addis Ababa from 6-11 November 2000, and at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association held in Nashville, Tennessee (USA) from 16-19 November 2000. In view of the regional and international composition of their participants, these forums not only served OSSREA as important market outlets but also provided it with the golden opportunity to enhance the international visibility of its publications among the research community.

4.3.4 EASSRR on AJOL

Since August 2000, OSSREA's journal, Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review (EASSRR), has become one of the fifty African scientific journals whose table of contents and abstracts are made available on the African Journals Online (AJOL) web site, which is maintained by the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP). INASP launched the AJOL Project in 1998 with the aim of promoting African scholarly journals to the international academic community. It provides photocopy and document delivery services and strives to raise the subscription of the journals.

The formation of a new editorial board by merging the two editorial committees and bringing in new members, which took place during the Sixth Congress of OSSREA in April 2000, is also expected to enhance the promotion of the journal internationally.

The distribution of OSSREA's publications received a new boost with the conclusion of marketing agreements with two additional distributors, namely, African Books Collective (ABC) and Universal Stationary and Bookshop, in December and October 2000, respectively. The ABC is a non-profit organization based in Oxford, England. It has diverse resources and facilities for the promotion and sale of African publications in the North. Universal Stationary and Bookshop is a small, very dynamic, private enterprise that is located on a busy high street in Addis Ababa. Both distributors have already received several publications of OSSREA for distribution in their respective domains.

Apart from these distributors, OSSREA's publications are also marketed by Book World (which has a chain of stands in major hotels in Addis Ababa) and the Addis Ababa University Book Centre.

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