The Other Side
30/01/12 14:41 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Submitted by S. Pelech - Kinexus on Mon, 01/30/2012 - 14:41.
Publishers of academic research have performed valuable services in the dissemination of scientific information, but to a large extent these have been profitable or at least sustainable enterprises. The steady growth in the number of new journals supports the contention that scientific publication can still be lucrative, especially if advertising opportunities exist. It is markedly cheaper and faster to disseminate scientific knowledge than before with improved technologies and the Internet.
Graham Taylor is incorrect in his assertion that public funds have not paid for the publishing of peer-review articles. Many journals have author pages charges, which are often even higher for open-access publications. Moreover, the actual peer-review is usually performed without charge to journals by scientists, which are themselves often paid salaries from public funding through governments and charities with the expectation that they will contribute in the peer-review process.
Link to the original blog post.
Publishers of academic research have performed valuable services in the dissemination of scientific information, but to a large extent these have been profitable or at least sustainable enterprises. The steady growth in the number of new journals supports the contention that scientific publication can still be lucrative, especially if advertising opportunities exist. It is markedly cheaper and faster to disseminate scientific knowledge than before with improved technologies and the Internet.
Graham Taylor is incorrect in his assertion that public funds have not paid for the publishing of peer-review articles. Many journals have author pages charges, which are often even higher for open-access publications. Moreover, the actual peer-review is usually performed without charge to journals by scientists, which are themselves often paid salaries from public funding through governments and charities with the expectation that they will contribute in the peer-review process.
Link to the original blog post.