Questions of access (e.g. licensing contracts, ILL, open
access)
and preservation (e.g. DL repositories, CLOCKSS, Portico)
have
been at the forefront of concerns of library communities and
repository managers. My suggestion is that a comprehensive
framework can be developed that incorporates:
- The equal importance of publishers, repositories and
libraries
in developing infrastructures for access and preservation;
- The internal challenge of enhancing the re-use of data and
publications;
- The significance of organisational, technical, financial
and
legal issues in a re-articulation of the key functions of
registration, certification, dissemination, archiving and
navigation.
I have completed a working paper that is available online
(free,
open access):
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=110
6162
A European Model for the Digital Publishing of Scientific
Information?
The entire system of scholarly communication is in
transition,
with the emergence of new markets, services and players.
Given
what we know about this digital transition, the technical,
financial and legal parameters of a future model of
publishing
scientific information are predictable. The contribution of
the
Commission of the European Communities has been to emphasize
how
digital access to scientific information is related to the
digital preservation of the record of scientific
publications and
data; because if digital preservation is undertaken access
cannot
be guaranteed for future innovations. The proposition for
the
delineation of a European model is developed as follows:
1. A digital model may be developed that results in open
access,
while preserving and enhancing the viability of a variety of
commercial publishing models.
2. The institutional players in the publishing system,
namely
publishers, repositories and libraries, must be ready to
accept a
redistribution of the key functions of registration,
certification, dissemination, archiving and navigation in a
manner that plays to the strength of each.
3. The condition for any successful elaboration of a digital
model is that it is complementary to the technology and
economics
of the internet, while the litmus test is that it enhances
the
impact and re-use of scientific information.
Open access publishing leads to complementary relationships
between publishers, libraries and repositories; unrestricted
access and the widest possible dissemination; and usually
facilitates the creation of value-added services as an
overlay
from platforms, repositories and libraries. In recent years,
a
number of viable full open access publishing (OAP) models
have
emerged: OAP where the author pays, by subscription, through
a
sponsoring consortium, and by way of support and
sponsorship.
Covered initiatives include BMC, Sage-Hindawi, Springer,
SCOAP3,
Science Commons OA law program, DRIVER, PARSE, PEER, NEEO
and
policies of the ERC, NIH and Harvard FAS.
Suggested Citation: Armbruster, Chris, "A European
Model for the
Digital Publishing of Scientific Information?" .
Available at
SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abst
ract=1106162
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