African universities often have better access to journal databases than western counterparts, thanks to big aid deals for the continent, but I wondered if Pakistan has a similar full-range access. I had a quick initial look at the journal-access situation in Pakistan, and soon found the national HEC Digital Library and its list of included databases and publishers…

“HEC National Digital Library (DL) is a[n official national] programme to provide researchers within public and private universities in Pakistan and non-profit research and development organizations with access to international scholarly literature based on electronic (online) delivery, providing access to high quality, peer-reviewed journals, databases, articles and e-Books across a wide range of disciplines.”

The supplied databases look like a wide selection and are available to bona fide institutions in Pakistan, though it looks like there’s a certain subset of databases reserved for larger institutions only.

Access there looks like it is broadly comparable to a medium-sized university in the west, if “The impact of non-accessible library and information science journals on research productivity in Pakistan” in 2016 in anything to go by. It found, from Pakistan…

“18% non-accessible and 37% partially accessible LIS journals on the HEC subscribed databases.”

Thought I note that, since then, Pakistan’s HEC Digital Library has added Gale, Oxford, Proquest, and probably others. Which has likely shortened the gap.

A 2009 grassroots report found that the main problem in access was said to be due to the frequent power-cuts, rather than databases…

“the respondents emphasized that electricity failure is the main hindrance to access to the digital library and to the Internet”