The CGIAR Virtual Library: A Vital Tool to Enhance Access to Agricultural Research

Literature searching instruments are available via the Internet, but one has to conduct several individual searches to retrieve relevant scholarly materials for research. This scenario led information experts from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) to find ways to make life easier for scientists. The collaboration among Information and IT managers resulted in the launch of the CGIAR Virtual Library (CGVLibrary) in 2006. CGIAR supports 15 diverse international centers, located worldwide, which generate scholarly research results that are considered as public goods and must be shared freely with the international community. The CGVLibrary enables federated searching of catalogs and databases and carries hyperlinks to full-text CGIAR documents. This article provides an analysis of the content of the CGVLibrary, of the various information avenues it opens for improving access to agricultural research, and of how the tool is being improved and marketed to promote awareness and worldwide use.