In case some of you do not know it, the BMJ has been publishing online
-free- for the past three years. You can read it at:

http://www.bmj.com

There is considerable research underway at the moment with regard to the
electronic publishing of scientific journals. The growing concensus is
that a key solution is more funding to cover publishing and free online
access (plus appropriate help for those 'beyond the end of the wire')
The "New Jounal of Physics" has taken this path.

Various studies estimate that it costs $20,000-$40,000 to 'produce' a
scientific article. For a submission fee of (say) $500 more the journal
could publish to the internet - making it available to all for free. This
would cut the costs to libraries, research institutes, educational sites,
etc. Since most of the research costs and the subscription costs are paid
for from publich science, technology and education funding, it makes
more sense to put a little more funding into publishing, a lot less into
subscriptions, and make the articles widely available.

There is resistance, of course, both from those commercial groups who make
a lot of money be standing between the researcher's draft and those who
want to read it. Some of those groups have seen the handwriting on the
wall and are re-positioning themselves to provide other value-added
services inthe publishing sector. Some are fighting it with everything
they have. Some researchers are fighting it for a mixed bag of reasons.

The most recent fight is over the proposed E-BIOMED electronic publication
in the Biomedial Sciences.

See: http://www.nih.gov/welcome/diretor/ebiomed/ebi.htm

See the story by Robert Pear in the June 8, 1999 New York times, titled
"N.I.H. Plan for Journal on the Web Draws Fire"


To keep abreast of global development in this area see:

http://www.oneworld.org/inasp

the website for the International Network for the Availability of
Scientific Publications.

And stay tuned here....on CLICK4HP...

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  Sam Lanfranco                           email:[log in to unmask]
  Coordinator                              URL: http://www.dkglobal.org
  Distributed Knowledge Project      Tel: +416 816-2852 (cell/ans_mach)
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