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