Newsgroups: comp.arch,comp.databases,comp.lsi,comp.parallel.pvm,comp.parallel.mpi,comp.org.acm,comp.org.ieee,comp.protocols.misc,comp.realtime,comp.software-eng,comp.sys.super,comp.theory,sci.math
From: ask611@leonard.anu.edu.au (Alden S Klovdahl)
Subject: Re: Publishing Scholarly Work on the Web -- opinions?
Organization: Australian National University
Date: 15 Sep 1996 10:33:31 +1000
Message-ID: <51fisr$hd2@leonard.anu.edu.au>

it surprises me that this is considered a matter worth debating today  - the
value of publishing on the web.  some points:

1.  anyone who writes a paper has already paid a high price, in terms of
    their time, the opportunity costs (other activities they might have 
    used the time for) and so on.  to me it makes no sense to talk about
    adding another cost, for publishing on the web.

2.  there is no contradiction between the idea of web publishing and 
    peer review.  if a person wants comments on a paper, he or she can 
    put it on their own web page, get speedy publication, and solicit 
    feedback.   

3.  there is nothing that precludes publishing in both electronic and 
    traditional media.

one good example here is the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, published 
by the (u.s.) center for disease control and prevention (atlanta):

                http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/eid.htm

it is peer-reviewed, it comes out in both electronic and traditional forms,
and it is very high quality.  it also seems to me to be the wave of the
future.

the question is who is going to run these new journals.  at present, we in
universities (to a large extent) write the articles, do the refereeing, most
of the editorial work in most cases. all of this often for free. 

in addition we subsidize publication through the subscription fees we pay 
for our professional journals, personally and/or through university budgets.

but the terms of publishing is such that this material is owned in perpetuity,
in all forms, by its commercial publisher, so on top of all the free services 
we provide to publishers we (universities) - at least here in australia - then
have to pay royalties if we want to use this material to teach our students.

now certainly commercial publishers provide a valuable service, they provide
organizational continuity, and indeed privately run publishing corporations
may be the more efficient than public enterprises (university presses too 
often being a good illustration here).

but, given the economics of education/universities these days, commercial
publishers of journals may be pricing themselves out of the market, and 
perhaps the emergence of electronic journals is an indicator of this. 

regards, al
-- 

 Alden S Klovdahl /   alden.klovdahl@anu.edu.au    / fax: +61 62 49 05 25
 Sociology Arts  / Australian National University / Canberra ACT Australia 0200 

