Al Manhal, with its one-of-a-kind, intelligent eContent platform extends a significant opportunity to
Arabic content publishers for maximizing revenue and global reach.
Enabling a cost-effective and secure framework to publish and distribute electronic content to esteemed
libraries across the world, while ensuring the highest standards of quality and security
protection.
Why A Manhal?
Increased Global Demand for Scholarly Arabic Content
The demand for online academic content has surged globally. Traditional libraries are increasing their
electronic content holdings, where it has become critical for publishers to adapt to the changing times
and implement an optimal electronic publishing and distribution infrastructure to thrive.
Al Manhal
supports this very end, in sync with the international library and copyright protection standards.
Robust Mechanism to Disseminate Content Effectively
Academic, scientific and research institutions worldwide need academic content from the Arab world and
because of the lack of an efficient publishing and distribution channel, the region’s research
institutions and publishing houses have been unable to meet the global demand for their content.
Al
Manhal provides an efficient mechanism to bridge this gap with the world’s only full-text searchable
platform for Arabic electronic content, providing seamless distribution of high quality content from the
Arab world’s leading publishing houses and research institutes.
Best in Class Benefits for
Publishers
• Arabized Platform
Al Manhal provides Arab publishers with award-winning full-text search
technology that the world’s leading publishers rely on.
The electronic distribution of content is at par with highest global
standards, customized to support the Arabic language and formatting needs.
• New Revenue Streams
Al Manhal’s platform provides its subscribers with flexible options for
acquiring content - from annual subscriptions to lower duration subscriptions. The flexibility
increases exposure and revenues streams for publishers choosing to share their content on the
platform.
• Digital Rights Management
(DRM)
Al Manhal’s platform utilizes trusted Digital Rights Management (DRM)
methodologies to guarantee copyright protection without hindering users ability to seamlessly
access and use content.
• Indexing Services
Al Manhal’s databases are indexed by International Indexing Service
Providers. Maximizing the global discovery and usage of content from the platform, as well as
amplifying the exposure and royalty potential for each partner publication.
• Royalty and Usage
Reports
Al Manhal is devoted to transparency and accuracy, which form critical
cornerstones to successful electronic publishing.
The platform ensures precise and timely royalties disbursement based on
sales and usage of content; and detailed COUNTER compliant usage reports (to the page level).
This allows publishing partners to audit sales figures as well as support the data driven future of
publishing and sales strategies.
• Marketing Benefits
Al Manhal focuses on maximizing the global awareness of publisher brands
based on their respective areas of specialization and their compatibility with the customers
research needs.
• Global Sales
Al Manhal’s market reach extends to a global distribution network
comprising of over 4,500 libraries, ensuring wide reach and revenue channels.
• CrossRef DOI services for eJournal
Publications
Al Manhal creates Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for all its articles
and registers them with the CrossRef citation linking network. This new DOI service enables the
publishers to meet International Indexing Standards to provide the international scholarly community
with easier access to their online research content. As a result, Journals published on the platform
tend to receive a higher level of global exposure and usage, which greatly affects their Impact
Factors.
Key Benefits of DOI:
- Provides dependable
links that preserve the appropriate scholarly citation.
- Drives traffic and usage as
the DOI numbers automatically link content to thousands of other publications and organizations
- Multiplies usage of
publications as users are able to easily link from references to other relevant articles.
- Includes ongoing updates for
all DOI numbers with no additional cost accruing to publishers.
Comprehensive Digital Publishing Process At Al
Manhal
The process of transitioning print holdings to electronic content at Al Manhal is a well-rounded one,
comprising of optimal electronic publishing and distribution strategies.
The steps behind ensuring world class Arabic e-content are described below:
Figure 1: Digital Publishing Process
Content Selection
Al Manhal’s content selection is a careful, process-oriented exercise conducted by a specialized team of
experienced librarians, editors and the Research and Library Board.
Backed by experience, extensive market research and actual usage data analysis, all incoming
content is first evaluated against a stringent criteria to extend the most suitable content for library
subscribers.
Aggregation and Production: Content Development
Process
Post selection comes in the aggregation and content production process. Steps
for this include -
Figure 2: Content Development Process
- Receive Content: Al Manhal aggregates the highest quality academic and professional content from
select publishers adhering to requisite excellence standards.
- Manage Content: The selected material then goes through the content production and management
process.
- Production: The content is converted from the incoming format to Al Manhal’s proprietary
format and goes through a detailed Quality Assurance process to ensure that the full-text
searchable electronic files are exact replicas of the original print publications.
US
Library of Congress compliant metadata and DOIs are applied to all titles.
- Management: The content is then processed through Al Manhal’s proprietary Content Management
System (TPS) and Royalty Management System that transparently and efficiently monitors the
sales, usage and due royalties of all titles.
- Classification: Publications are classified according to the Dewey Decimal and US Library of
Congress classification systems, and indexed by leading International Indexing Engines. The content
is then mapped to relevant subject collections in order to ensure discoverability. This process
maximizes the benefit for the user, and exposure and royalty potential for the publishers.
- Upload eContent: The eContent is then uploaded onto the trusted Al Manhal database.
- Post Uploading Checks: Al Manhal also regularly checks publications ensuring that a consistent level
of quality is being maintained at all times.
Marketing
Owing to its product excellence combined with world class Marketing Strategies, Al Manhal is globally
recognized as the leading Arabic ePublishing solutions provider. Libraries, globally, recognize its
publishing partners and portfolio of products.
- Regional & Global Presence: Al Manhal is active in participating at global publishing events,
book fairs and library exhibitions while diligently promoting the publishers and their
content.
The sales and distribution team actively promote and provide onsite presentations and
training to universities, schools and libraries around the world enhancing the reach of the
published content.
- Marketing Material: Al Manhal leverages various marketing outlets, such as corporate websites,
eNewsletters, brochures, flyers, e-campaigns, and social media, to constantly promote its publishers
and their products.
- Media Publicity: Al Manhal’s global outreach network ensures international exposure for publishers
via local and regional events, press releases and the media.
Distribution & Sales
Al Manhal is equipped with a robust sales and distribution network, ensuring an extensive reach across
libraries in over 40 countries.
Currently, the platform caters to the Arabic content needs of over 4500 libraries from esteemed
institutions.
Consumption
Al Manhal supports an optimum research experience for its subscribing institutions, and in turn, a
royalty maximizing opportunity for its publishing partners.
With the user-friendly design, the portal maximizes the acquisition, access and usage of its databases by
its subscribing researchers worldwide.
While complying with the best International Library Standards, it is also backed by advanced intelligent
research technologies and e-library methods to make research simpler and more efficient.
Al Manhal’s databases are relied upon by over 450 universities and schools, including esteemed
institutions as Georgetown University, University of Qatar, Higher Colleges of Technology, Saudi
Ministry of Higher Education, Abu Dhabi Education Council, etc. Nearly 1,000,000 students in the Middle
East and USA are using Al Manhal content daily, and in turn maximizing usage royalties for the
publishers.
Publishers Royalties
Al Manhal ensures guaranteed royalties to publishers based on the inclusion of their content in Al
Manhal’s databases. Publishers also receive additional royalties based on the usage of their content
across the fast-growing customer base.