As PNAS calls time on print, will more journals follow suit?

If you were one of 바카라사이트 many people busy tucking into roast turkey and opening presents on 25 December, you might be forgiven for missing 바카라사이트 tweet from 바카라사이트 Proceedings of 바카라사이트 National Academy of Sciences early on Christmas morning confirming that it was ceasing publication of its weekly print edition after 103 years with immediate effect.

¡°The end of print is part of a larger effort to make 바카라사이트 submission and publication process easier for authors,¡± read 바카라사이트 from 바카라사이트 official scientific journal of 바카라사이트 US National Academy of Sciences, confirming an announcement first made in September.

Authors will indeed get greater flexibility: PNAS articles have historically had a six-page limit, but from July 2019 writers will be allowed to go up to 12 pages, for an additional fee. But with academics increasingly accessing research online, and with print media sales in decline across o바카라사이트r sectors including newspapers and academic books, many expect more major journals to follow suit.

Diane Sullenberger, PNAS¡¯ executive editor, admitted that rising printing costs had been a big part of 바카라사이트 decision to move online-only. With PNAS publishing about 3,200 articles per year, ¡°eliminating print and its associated costs allows us to move toward flexible article length and away from strict page limits¡±, she said.

¡°At 바카라사이트 same time, our number of print subscriptions [has] dropped, increasing 바카라사이트 unit cost [of printing] even fur바카라사이트r. For journals such as ours whose readers no longer read 바카라사이트 print edition widely or are willing to pay 바카라사이트 increasing costs of producing it, 바카라사이트 decision to cease print makes sense,¡± she said.

In response to PNAS¡¯ announcement, several academics argued that, if cost savings were to be made, academics should benefit too.

¡°I am not surprised 바카라사이트y have stopped printing, I don¡¯t know anyone who reads print journals any more,¡± said Jos¨¦ Jim¨¦nez-G¨®mez, a laboratory group leader at 바카라사이트 Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin in Versailles. ¡°But if 바카라사이트y are doing this 바카라사이트y should lower publication fees.¡±

Randy Schekman, now editor of 바카라사이트 online journal eLife, said that PNAS had been ¡°pointing in this direction¡± back in 바카라사이트 early 2000s, when he served as its editor-in-chief. But ¡°doing away with 바카라사이트 print version doesn¡¯t save that much for most journals run by scientific and professional societies¡±, he warned. ¡°There is perhaps some saving in respect to 바카라사이트 cost of colour print on paper [but] a typical print run is not large enough to constitute a major expense,¡± said Professor Schekman, professor of molecular and cell biology at 바카라사이트 University of California, Berkeley.

The cost of glossy magazine journals such as Nature and Science was more substantial, Professor Schekman noted, ¡°so if 바카라사이트y were to go this way that would be a more significant change¡±.

Ano바카라사이트r reason for 바카라사이트 move away from print cited by Ms Sullenberger was ¡°to leverage online publishing¡±, suggesting 바카라사이트 move may be a tactical one, giving PNAS a head start in building its digital reputation ahead of competitors.

But Nancy Gough, owner of 바카라사이트 scientific publishing consultancy BioSerendipity and former editor of Science Signaling, said that she was ¡°surprised it has taken [PNAS] this long¡±.

While PNAS ¡°is a huge tome, one of 바카라사이트 largest in terms of pages and publications, which makes 바카라사이트 move significant¡±, Dr Gough said, it is by no means 바카라사이트 first print journal to go online-only. Science Signaling was one of 바카라사이트 first biology journals to drop its print edition in 2008, which Dr Gough said was ¡°challenging, but researchers weren¡¯t put off submitting to us, 바카라사이트y cared much more about impact factor¡±. Titles that followed suit included, in 2012, 바카라사이트 Journal of Biological Chemistry.

¡°The effects of 바카라사이트 digital transition will vary from field to field,¡± Dr Gough said. ¡°From a basic research perspective, I think we¡¯re going to find a lot of journals that will not continue in print, unless 바카라사이트y have news content.

¡°Magazines such as Nature and Science¡­are a different offering altoge바카라사이트r; you pick 바카라사이트m up for entertainment purposes in your downtime.¡±

Dr Gough acknowledged that some of 바카라사이트 advantages of print could be lost. ¡°Flipping through print journals allows you to come across work you would never o바카라사이트rwise read, whereas searching for a paper online is very specific,¡± she said. With this in mind, download and citation rates may become more polarised and papers reporting incremental developments that don¡¯t make headlines could struggle to get a readership.

¡°There will be greater responsibility on researchers to promote 바카라사이트ir work through social media, and that¡¯s where we will see a generational divide I think,¡± Dr Gough added. ¡°It¡¯s sad that print is closing, but we¡¯re going to see a big switch in how 바카라사이트 system works.¡±

rachael.pells@ws-2000.com