SYReLIB – Enhancing the global connections of Syria's academic community

This is a brief report on a pilot project funded by the European Commission TEMPUS programme concerned with the modernisation of the university libraries in Syria and the enhanced visibility of the research outputs of the Syrian academic community. As background, it outlines the current state of the country's electronic and scholarly publishing, and the development of national and university computer networks. It reviews the project's contribution to introduction of automated library management systems with online catalogues and institutional repositories, and the expansion of journal collections. The issues likely to impact on further developments are discussed. Aspects of current professional education, including a shortage of qualified librarians with contemporary professional knowledge and skills, inhibit development. Other major challenges are the lack of effective strategic planning and poor management systems.