There is a nice news item on the AMS website about MathSciNet, Uzbekistan, and the MathSciNet for Developing Countries Program, also known as the MDC Program. In very specific terms, the piece tells how the program has helped the mathematicians in Uzbekistan to have access to MathSciNet, even when it seemed out of reach.
The MDC Program is a great thing. It is supported by donations (click here if you are interested in donating), and offers institutions in developing counties a deeply discounted subscription rate to MathSciNet. Some of my best experiences as the Executive Editor of Mathematical Reviews have been meeting mathematicians whose institutions subscribe through the MDC program. There were quite a few such mathematicians at the ICM in Rio de Janeiro who sought out the AMS booth just so they could come by to thank us for the program. They even returned the favor by being active reviewers! I learned from some of them that they can have problems connecting to MathSciNet because their universities change internet service providers from time to time, thus changing their IP addresses. I was very happy to be able to tell them about Remote Access, which allows them to have uninterrupted access for 90 days at a time. Setting up Remote Access is described in my post Using MathSciNet at home or on the road.
Check out the news item. Let me take this opportunity to thank Scott Hershberger, from the AMS Communications Office, who wrote it. Thank you, Scott!
