The access to adequate and up-to-date scientific and technical information is essential for the economic and social development, specially to support decision making process in planning, formulation and implementation of public policies and to support professional development and practice. The results of scientific research are mainly communicated and validated through publication in scientific journals. This is valid for developed and developing countries. However, scientific journals from developing countries face several distribution and dissemination barriers, which limits the access and usage of locally generated scientific information.
SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online is a model for cooperative electronic publishing of scientific journals on the Internet. Especially conceived to meet the scientific communication needs of developing countries, particularly Latin America and the Caribbean countries, it provides an efficient way to assure universal visibility and accessibility to their scientific literature, contributing to overcome the phenomena known as 'lost science'. In addition, the SciELO model comprises integrated procedures for the measurement of usage and impact of scientific journals.