Open access e‐book collection on Central Asia in selected digital archives

Abstract

PurposeThe main purpose of the present study is to identify open access e‐book collections in selected digital archives related to social sciences in general and greater Central Asia in particular.Design/methodology/approachThe selected digital archives, which were all rich in Central Asia collections, were searched using different keywords. The first 50 hits were retrieved to identify open access e‐books and their bibliographical details were recorded to complete the present study.FindingsThe results reflect that a good collection of open access e‐books is available on Central Asia, and some titles date back to the nineteenth century. The collection includes both “made digital” and “born digital” items. The results further depict that most of these e‐books were published in developed countries like the USA and the UK. These books mostly deal with political science (especially international relations), sociology and economics, and are mostly published by national and international organisations like the US Strategic Research Institute (SRI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), the World Bank (WB), and the World Health Organization (WHO).Research limitations/implicationsThe study does not explore the whole worldwide web, but only selected digital archives that have rich Central Asia collections.Practical implicationsThe study is very helpful for Central Asian academic communities, worldwide scholars conducting research on Central Asia and library and information professionals serving the academic and research communities of the region.Originality/valueThe study is original research highlighting the role of library and information managers in information discovery and identification. The study is a corner‐stone in information discovery and is very valuable for research, academic and literate communities in this region and other parts of the world conducting research on Central Asia.