Exciting potential of scholarly electronic journals (original) (raw)

Traditionally, the learned journal has served as the primary medium for scholarly communication, legitimizing and assessing scholarly discourses and intellectual labour, and facilitating the academic review and reward process. Electronic publishing may now have the potential not only to share this function, but also to revolutionize method of research and collaboration. Until recently, the form and functions of the print journal have remained stable. However, the recent explosive development of information technology is challenging the traditional conceptions of scholarly communication and publishing, and academics are discovering that networking tools open new kinds of research practice and scholarship impossible within a print paradigm [1]. The new technology is particularly welcome since the traditional publishing system is in crisis. Since the 1960s, the number of articles and new journals have skyrocketed. For example, over half the language and literature journals available were inaugurated after 1970 [2], and nearly half of the one million papers in mathematics were published only in the past decade [3]. This tremendous increase in serial publications, coupled with spiraling subscription costs and shrinking library budgets, are driving what many describe as the "crisis in scholarly publishing." [4] While researchers are finding it impossible to keep up with the literature in their fields, libraries are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain their current serial collection, let alone acquire new titles. The "de-acquisition" of journals, particularly those that have small readerships and are too costly to maintain, is commonplace among libraries. As a consequence, the ability of university libraries to provide faculty with needed published information has been steadily eroding [5]. Scholarly publishing is clearly at a crossroads. Academics have tough choices to make: leave the journal system as is, and face further erosion of access to information, or form a partnership with technology specialists, librarians and learned societies to develop high quality network-based electronic publishing projects [6], making the results of their research available at a lower cost [7]. Strong evidence that scholars are increasingly adopting the latter route can be seen in The Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters and Academic Discussion Lists, the standard reference work on serials and other academic forums available on the Internet. The 6th edition of the Directory [8], published by the Association of Research Libraries, and released in July of this year, shows a 257% increase in e-journals and a 26% increase in academic discussion lists since the 1995 edition [9]. Since 1991, when the Directory was first published, the discussion lists since the 1995 edition [9]. Since 1991, when the Directory was first published, the number of discussion lists has risen from 517 to 3,000, and journals and newsletters from 110, to the current 1,688. At present, most of the e-journals do not have a paper-based counterpart [10]. The majority of academic e-journals are free, and most are non-refereed. But the number of peer-reviewed ejournals, many sponsored by learned societies, is increasing steadily [11]. There are now over 100 refereed science, technology and medical e-journals, and many more will be launched in the coming year [12]. Interestingly, e-journal publishing is not restricted to the sciences and computer-related fields, where practitioners are excepted to be more adept at information technology. Titles like Postmodern Cultures, Internet Archaeology, Sociological Research Online, and Nordic Linguistic Bulletin [13], clearly show that interest in e-journals spans the range of academic disciplines. Indeed some of the earliest e-journals originated in the Humanities, the Bryn Mawr Classical Review [14], a journal devoted to the review of books in the classics, being exemplary. At present, the WorldWide Web, supported by the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), appears to be favoured by most new journal publishers [15]. Indeed, web journal publishing offers several advantages over the existing print model. Until recently, presentation of scientific data and results were restricted both by printing cost and by the limitations of two-dimensional representations. Because of its ability to incorporate digitized audiovisual information and high resolution graphics, web-based publications can offer new means of visualization and richer representation of data and results [16]. With electronic media and the decreasing cost for storage, the possibility also exists for the publication of all the primary data on which research is based. By offering authors' raw data and the software used in its analysis, readers will be able to duplicate, reanalyze or reinterpret an author's work. Such practices may radically redefine collaboration and resource sharing [17] Furthermore, readers of web documents can easily travel, through hypertext links, to related articles or other journals, and to geographically dispersed resources such as museum collections or rare archival material [18]. The accumulation of such related links will resemble a cumulatively developing database on a research problem. Thus, rather than being a bounded volume of somewhat related articles as in the print model, an e-journal may represent an evolving archive of ongoing research and interconnected resources, with researchers from around the world contributing to its growth. Such a scenario is already occurring on the Net, in fields as diverse as molecular genetics and renaissance studies [19]. Because electronic publishing is not tied to page budgets, print runs, and production schedules, ejournals provide much greater flexibility than do traditional periodicals. An individual article can be published as soon as it is reviewed, accepted, and corrected, without having to wait for other articles to form an artificial issue. On the other hand, special theme issues and conference proceedings can be published when demands arise [20]. Understandably, not all scientists and academics are equally impressed with e-publishing. Indeed, the nascent practice of e-journal publishing raises a number of serious questions and challenges that e-journal enthusiasts often fail to acknowledge.