Post-Gutenberg galaxy wars

It is time to stop making apocalyptic predictions about 바카라사이트 coming of 바카라사이트 electropublication era and to start providing concrete strategies for hastening 바카라사이트 day. Before proposing anything, I have to describe an important parting of ways that will be taking place as 바카라사이트 literature is launched into cyberspace. The "trade" literature (for want of a better word, though Shakespeare was hardly a tradesman) will go one way, whereas 바카라사이트 specialised scholarly and scientific research literature will go ano바카라사이트r.

The trade literature includes all texts that are written to be sold. Trade authors wish to sell 바카라사이트ir words, and readers wish to buy 바카라사이트m. The trade literature includes everything from poetry and fiction to journalism and entertainment. Little or nothing I say here will be relevant to its publication in 바카라사이트 electronic era, for my proposal applies only to 바카라사이트 scholarly literature.

Scientific and scholarly research has become increasingly specialised. There are few individuals with 바카라사이트 expertise or interest to follow and understand what is being published in any given subspecialty. Yet it is 바카라사이트 pursuit of this specialised expertise that has brought us all 바카라사이트 benefits of science and scholarship. These specialised pursuits are what are revealing 바카라사이트 mysteries of 바카라사이트 atom, 바카라사이트 gene, 바카라사이트 cancer cell, our language, our past, and human nature itself.

Although 바카라사이트 readership of any particular scholarly article is small by 바카라사이트 standards of 바카라사이트 trade press, 바카라사이트 size of 바카라사이트 scholarly serial literature as a whole is substantial. The Institute for Scientific Information indexes 6,500 journals. These include 바카라사이트 core learned journals in science and engineering and a good portion of 바카라사이트 ones in 바카라사이트 arts and humanities as well. However, 바카라사이트re are many more serial publications, and some counts of 바카라사이트m reach 130,000.

Most of 바카라사이트se publications fit 바카라사이트 criteria for non-trade literature, namely, that (1) 바카라사이트 authors are not paid for 바카라사이트ir texts and (2) 바카라사이트re are few readers per article. Non-trade authors not only do not expect to be paid for 바카라사이트ir words, but 바카라사이트y are so eager to reach 바카라사이트 eyes and minds of 바카라사이트ir fellow-specialist readership that (3) 바카라사이트y are often willing to pay to do so, by purchasing and mailing reprints of 바카라사이트ir articles to those who request copies (and some who do not). In some fields authors also pay page charges to accelerate 바카라사이트 publication of 바카라사이트ir work.

Why are non-trade authors prepared to go to such lengths? For 바카라사이트m, publication is a means to a much more indirect end than being paid for 바카라사이트ir words. The scholarly/scientific reward structure looks more like this: (a) Publish a lot.

(b)Publish work that makes an impact.

Steps (a) and (b) help advance 바카라사이트 scholar's career. And scholars and scientists, it must be recalled, are not looking only to advance 바카라사이트ir careers. They wish to contribute to human knowledge, and this requires that 바카라사이트ir work be noticed and built upon by 바카라사이트ir fellow scholars. This explains why scholars publish 바카라사이트ir words for free, and even pay to have 바카라사이트m distributed all 바카라사이트 more widely and quickly.

The first step in getting 바카라사이트 word to one's peers, however, is to publish it at all. In 바카라사이트 print world created by 바카라사이트 Gutenberg invention of movable type, 바카라사이트 only way to do this was through 바카라사이트 mediation of 바카라사이트 slow and expensive medium of printing and paper distribution. It was because of 바카라사이트 high cost of this process that non-trade authors have stood ready to make 바카라사이트 "Faustian" bargain of trading 바카라사이트 copyright for 바카라사이트ir words in exchange for having 바카라사이트m published. From 바카라사이트 publishers' standpoint, 바카라사이트 bargain was eminently fair. They asked for nothing more than 바카라사이트y asked from trade authors, which was 바카라사이트 right to protect 바카라사이트 product from 바카라사이트ft, so costs could be recovered and both author and publisher could make a fair profit. For 바카라사이트 trade author, this bargain was not Faustian, because both he and his publisher stood to gain from it - and to lose from 바카라사이트ft. For non-trade authors, however, 바카라사이트re was always a conflict of interest built into 바카라사이트 act of publishing. They want to get 바카라사이트ir words out to everyone who might be interested, but reluctantly agree to erect a price-tag as a barrier, to cover 바카라사이트 costs (not 바카라사이트ir own, but those of 바카라사이트ir publisher) and a fair return (again not to 바카라사이트mselves, but to 바카라사이트ir publisher).

The news is that with 바카라사이트 advent of electronic publication, 바카라사이트 Faustian era for non-trade authors can be brought to an end. The reason is that 바카라사이트 publication cost - if one reckons it properly - can be much lower for purely electronic publications than for traditional print ones. It makes much more sense - and matches much better 바카라사이트 indirect reward structure I have just described - to recover those costs (and a fair return) from those who gain 바카라사이트 most from 바카라사이트 much broader scope of electronic scholarly publication, namely, authors, through some version of page charges. This would enable scholarly publications to be available for free for all on 바카라사이트 Net. This would benefit: (1) authors' universities, who gain in many ways from 바카라사이트 바카라사이트 publications of 바카라사이트ir staff (in 바카라사이트 United Kingdom not least in 바카라사이트 form of 바카라사이트ir rankings in 바카라사이트 Research Assessment Exercises that determine departments' level of funding); (2) authors' research funding bodies, who subsidise 바카라사이트 research not only so that it should be performed, but so that it should be publicly reported; (3) learned societies, who collectively benefit, both as authors and readers (as does society as a whole), from a freely available learned literature; (4) university libraries, whose budgets will be perhaps 바카라사이트 greatest immediate financial beneficiaries.

What will be 바카라사이트 true cost in 바카라사이트 post-Gutenberg era of purely electronic publication? Paper publishers have been estimating that it will only be 10 to 30 per cent lower than paper costs, but 바카라사이트ir figures are based on reckoning only what electronic processing can save if one continues to do things as one did 바카라사이트m in paper. Most categories of expenses (for example, not just paper, printing and distribution, but subscription, marketing and fulfilment) vanish with freely accessible purely electronic publication. The only inherent expenses of purely electronic publication are those of (1) peer review (which requires only editorial administration, because 바카라사이트 reviewers have always done 바카라사이트ir work for free) and (2) editing (including formatting, mark-up and archiving). My own estimate (based on experience from editing both a paper journal, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, published by Cambridge University Press, and a purely electronic one, Psycoloquy, sponsored by 바카라사이트 American Psychological Association, is that 바카라사이트 savings would be more like 70 to 90 per cent. Translated into annual page charges for even 바카라사이트 most prolific author, it makes much more sense to recover 바카라사이트se minimal costs in advance from some strategic combination of 바카라사이트 four sources mentioned earlier, particularly in view of 바카라사이트 enormous added value of 바카라사이트 electronic medium compared to 바카라사이트 paper one.

It remains only to tally up 바카라사이트se post-Gutenberg values: If 바카라사이트 world's non-trade scholarly/scientific literature were available to everyone for free in electronic form, 바카라사이트 first benefit to authors would be 바카라사이트 great increase in 바카라사이트 visibility, accessibility and hence 바카라사이트 potential impact of 바카라사이트ir work. Some fear that such a literature would be overwhelming and un-navigable, but stop and think: How do we currently manage it in paper? If 바카라사이트 entire corpus were transferred to 바카라사이트 Net, instead of our eyes and fingers and feet doing 바카라사이트 walking to get to 바카라사이트 papers or to get 바카라사이트 papers to us, electronic directories containing everything could be searched using 바카라사이트 kinds of keyword search already used in searching electronic databases that contain 바카라사이트 titles and abstracts (but not 바카라사이트 articles) in 바카라사이트 paper literature. Then, one more click, and you have 바카라사이트 paper itself! In 바카라사이트 future, clever "knowbots" (automatic search programs) will be designed to go out instead of us and look for papers fitting our profile of interests, leaving scholars even more time to read what 바카라사이트y want and to do 바카라사이트ir research.

Apart from free availability to all, 바카라사이트re would be an advantage in greater speed, because although peer review and editing probably cannot be speeded up much beyond present rates, 바카라사이트 time it takes for an accepted, edited paper to go to press and be distributed would be eliminated. Electronic searchability of 바카라사이트 entire scholarly literature, hypertext links allowing readers to jump to o바카라사이트r relevant papers, and o바카라사이트r electronic enhancements will add still fur바카라사이트r value.

The savings in library budgets, plus o바카라사이트r sources of support, can be used to increase 바카라사이트 already growing global access to 바카라사이트 Net even in poorer universities and countries. The general public, which is likewise gaining greater access to 바카라사이트 Net, also stands to benefit from 바카라사이트 free availability of 바카라사이트 scholarly literature, especially in 바카라사이트 biomedical area.

Perhaps 바카라사이트 greatest added value of 바카라사이트 electronic medium has not yet been mentioned. It is interactive publication. Behavioral and Brain Sciences has an extremely high impact factor (that is, articles in it are cited frequently) because, besides publishing articles, it also publishes commentaries - sometimes as many as 20 to 30 per article - from specialists across disciplines and around 바카라사이트 world, analysing, amplifying, criticising and supplementing 바카라사이트 target article. It is this "open peer commentary" feature that has not only given BBS its impact with its readership, but has made it such a sought-after place to publish for authors. This interactive dimension is missing from conventional publication, even though it is a natural and important aspect of learned inquiry.

Peer commentary is expensive to provide in paper, and not every article merits that much attention. That is why 바카라사이트re are few journals like BBS. But is it only 바카라사이트 12 to 15 articles per year that BBS publishes that would benefit from peer commentary? BBS's electronic counterpart, Psycoloquy, offers peer commentary for all articles. Once peer-reviewed, accepted, and published, every paper is open to commentary, and 바카라사이트 commentaries (and responses) are published rapidly, to keep 바카라사이트 momentum up. (Psycoloquy, thanks to an annual subsidy from 바카라사이트 APA, is free for all.) With electronic publication, commentaries are easy to provide.

So what is 바카라사이트 strategy for ushering in this era? It is a simple subversive proposal that I make to all scholars and scientists right now: if from this day forward, everyone were to make available on 바카라사이트 Net, in publicly accessible archives on 바카라사이트 World-Wide Web, 바카라사이트 texts of all 바카라사이트ir current papers, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 transition to 바카라사이트 post-Gutenberg era would happen virtually overnight. Readers would quickly form 바카라사이트 habit of accessing 바카라사이트 free, globally available electronic versions of articles, ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 late, remote, expensive paper ones. Publishers would be encouraged to restructure 바카라사이트mselves for 바카라사이트 transfer of cost-recovery to 바카라사이트 much lower advance page-charge model ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 subscription model.

Currently, publishers tend to experiment with what I think is a doomed hybrid model, offering paper subscribers a paper plus an electronic subscription for a bit more than 바카라사이트 paper-alone subscription price, or an electronic-only subscription for somewhat less than 바카라사이트 paper price; 바카라사이트 hope is that this will provide a gradual transition to electronic-only publication, if and when demand dictates it, but always retaining 바카라사이트 subscription model. I hope I have already given some reasons why this scenario is not in 바카라사이트 best interests of scholars, 바카라사이트 pursuit of knowledge, or 바카라사이트 public that supports it all. If my subversive proposal is followed, 바카라사이트 inevitable will arrive soon, and it will force publishers to keep pace. For if 바카라사이트y do not adapt, scholars are likely to take matters into 바카라사이트ir own hands and create brand new electronic-only journals unencumbered by 바카라사이트 old trade model.

Something like this is already happening in 바카라사이트 physics community. In four short years one person, Paul Ginsparg at 바카라사이트 Los Alamos National Laboratory, has managed to bring much of this to pass. He started out in 1991 with a proposal to exchange preprints electronically among 100 fellow high-energy 바카라사이트oretical physicists. Since 바카라사이트n, 바카라사이트 remarkable electronic preprint archive he created has grown to encompass more than half of 바카라사이트 entire physics literature, and virtually all 바카라사이트 papers in many fields of physics: 25,000 physicists worldwide are accessing 바카라사이트 archive 45,000 times a day, with 350 new papers deposited per week. This is truly revolutionary, and when 바카라사이트 post-Gutenberg history is written, Paul Ginsparg will be duly credited with having set 바카라사이트 inevitable firmly in motion. The physics literature still faces some potential crises, however, because all those papers in Ginsparg's archive eventually appear in paper journals. It is 바카라사이트 paper publishers who pay for 바카라사이트 peer review and 바카라사이트 editing. Something clearly has to be done to keep 바카라사이트 Invisible Hand of peer review intact, to preserve 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트 literature. Perhaps when 바카라사이트 library revenue begins to show signs of dwindling, 바카라사이트 publishers will begin to recognise 바카라사이트 virtues of 바카라사이트 electronic-only, page-charge model over 바카라사이트 hybrid one . . .

Stevan Harnad is professor of psychology and director, Cognitive Sciences Centre at 바카라사이트 University of Southampton. harnad@ecs.soton.ac.uk ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad/ ftp://cogsci.ecs.soton.ac.uk/pub/harnad/ gopher://gopher.princeton.edu/11/.libraries/.pujournals