[BOAI] Announcement of Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals Initiative

[Peter Suber]

[Forwarding from Bloomsbury Publishing.  --Peter Suber.]

APOLOGIES FOR CROSS POSTING

*Bloomsbury Publishing, Qatar Foundation and Qatar National Research Fund
(QNRF) today announced the launch of an ambitious new scientific publishing
house to be based in Doha, Qatar.*

This initiative will extend the unique relationship between Qatar Foundation
and Bloomsbury. The new publishing house, Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation
Journals (BQFJ), will publish scientific research developed to the highest
international peer review standards in order to connect the international
research community to one of the fastest growing research and development
centres in the world.

The development follows the creation of a unique scientific and research
environment in Qatar. Together, the six existing universities in Education
City alongside other scientific and technical centres are a catalyst for
intellectual growth and technological advance. Through BQFJ,
state-of-the-art research facilities will be complemented by
state-of-the-art publishing, using the best technical, communications and
editorial systems to provide the basis for a world-leading research
publishing programme for the global scientific research community. The
venture will largely adopt the Open Access Publishing model and will cover
all research subjects, including medical, physical, engineering, Islamic and
social sciences and the arts, supported by a highly sophisticated technical
infrastructure. Articles and journals will be made available on the same
platform as the institutional repository, currently under development in
Qatar.

Bloomsbury has already established a book publishing operation in
partnership with Qatar Foundation that is set to become a major regional and
international publishing centre.  Through the creation of a scientific
publishing centre, this will provide the seeds for a leading publishing
house based in the Middle East.

Nigel Newton, Founder and Chief Executive of Bloomsbury, will be Chairman of
the Management Committee of Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals, which will
include Richard Charkin, Executive Director at Bloomsbury, Non Executive
Director at the Institute of Physics Publishing and formerly Chief Executive
of Macmillan/Nature Publishing Group and Kathy Rooney, Managing Director of
Bloomsbury Information and responsible for Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation
Publishing. Arend Küster, currently Business Development Director at
Bloomsbury, will be Managing Director of the Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation
Journals.

Bloomsbury is also committed to establish knowledge-transfer of publishing
skills to Qatar, including a mentoring programme and the training of Qatari
interns each year in London and Doha.

Dr. Amer Al Saadi Research Advisor at Qatar Foundation/ and Project Manager
of the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) said that “We are pleased that
over six months of intensive joint work on the project feasibility have
resulted in a mutually beneficial agreement to launch scientific journals
publishing.  Everyone concerned in the project is ready to go and both sides
agreed to start work early in January 2010.”

“It is in the nature of scientific publishing to react to the communication
needs of the scientific community worldwide. The rapid expansion of high
quality research in the region necessitates the dissemination of scientific
knowledge through twenty-first century digital and print channels.  We are
proud to be associated with the venture”, commented Richard Charkin.

Nigel Newton said: "We are delighted to announce this partnership with Qatar
Foundation and the Qatar National Research Fund. Publishing research
articles in English and Arabic together with the most advanced technical
infrastructure will further Qatar’s leadership in science and research
beyond the region. This is an exciting project for all parties.”

For further Information please contact Arend Küster, Business Development
Director, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 36 Soho Square, London W1D 3QY, T: +44
75907 13212, E: arend.kuester at bloomsbury.com
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