The manager of the Online Knowledge Library (b-on), Joana Novais, highlights some of the characteristics that distinguish this service from the FCCN Unit, emphasizing its importance in light of the evolving paradigm of scientific research.
How can you describe the purpose of b-on?
b-on (Online Knowledge Library) provides access to a very relevant set of scientific content, in disciplinary areas ranging from Social Sciences and Humanities to the areas of Science, Technology and Medicine.
The contents belong to some of the most important publishers and international database providers such as Elsevier, Wiley, Springer-Nature or Taylor and Francis.
To whom and in what situations can b-on be useful?
b-on members are primarily higher education and research institutions, but also include public administration institutions, private non-profit institutions, and some hospitals.
By aggregating the demand of institutions in a centralized negotiation, b-on allows you to achieve significant savings resulting from economies of scale, negotiating power, and reduced purchasing processes. This allows its members to access a much more comprehensive set of content—something that would not be feasible individually.
«(…) b-on is able to achieve significant savings resulting from economies of scale, negotiating capacity and reduction of purchasing processes»
Joana Novais, b-on Manager
How do you evaluate the implementation of this service within the academic community?
Scientific research must be unique and innovative and, as such, it is essential to know what is already being done in a given area of research. In this sense, b-on is instrumental in enabling access to one of the main raw materials for research: scientific knowledge. Every time a researcher or member of the academic community conducts research on a specific topic and accesses a scientific article from one of our suppliers, b-on ensures the success of that action.
What are some of the latest figures regarding b-on's activity?
b-on currently has 61 member institutions and aggregates content from 19 publishers and content providers. The number of downloads secured by b-on grows year after year, with in 2019 there were more than 11.5 million downloads.
What is the future vision for this service?
The publishing world is undergoing a major transformation. There is increasing talk of the importance of research being immediately available. A clear example of this has been the way publishers have been making all research articles on COVID-19 available, in order to accelerate the transfer of knowledge between various research groups around the world.
Naturally, this necessary paradigm shift is being implemented gradually and in a concerted manner worldwide. Therefore, one of b-on's main concerns at this time is to closely monitor the evolution of new trends and modernize according to best practices!
