SLA Vendor Update 2000

Moderator: Emily Poworoznek, Engineering and Physical Sciences Librarian at the University of New Hampshire.

Panelists:

• Bob Austin (BA), Professor of Physics at Princeton University and Editor of the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research
• Robert A. Kelly (BK), Director of Journal Information Systems for the American Physical Society
• Mary Rose Muccie, Journals Publisher with the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (MRM)
• Greg Youngen (GY), Physics/Astronomy Librarian (and acting Geology Librarian) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Thanks are due to Joe Kraus, University of Denver, who took extensive notes.

Please Note: The discussion was not taped, so panelist responses and audience questions were paraphrased. Please write to Emily Poworoznek if you have corrections or additions for the record.

In response to a discussion of journal pricing issues on PAMnet that became a more general discussion, this year's Vendor Update followed a panel discussion format and addressed current issues in scientific scholarly electronic (and print) publishing.

1. How do journals compete for authors, readers, and subscribers? If too many papers are being published in too many journals at too high a price, who should take responsibility for rolling back the numbers?

   GY: This is something for publishers to determine. I doubt the number of journals will be rolled back. Librarians can't really tell authors where to publish their work.

   MRM: SIAM doesn't really have to compete for authors, because the publisher has a good reputation. Authors want to be as visible as possible.

   Authors self-select where they publish. Some authors look to see where they are cited, and then change where they send their manuscripts based on where their readership lies. SIAM is still evaluating to see if individual member journal print subscriptions go down as institutions provide more electronic subscriptions. Many mathematicians see publishers that have page charges as being vanity presses.

   BK: One of the ways that the APS competes for authors is by talking to authors at many of the various APS meetings. It is clear that journals must adapt to the existing communication channels. Paul Ginsparg's e- print archive, www.arXiv.org, is an example. Journal editors will need to modify and streamline the publishing process. Must e-publish as soon as the articles are ready. APS has some articles e-published within 6 weeks of print publication. This is a big hit with the high energy crowd. Publishers must pay attention to the needs of the authors. Concerning readers - The APS is working on extending the older PROLA (prola.aps.org) records. The stable links are done in a "natural language" - with the URL consisting of journal-name/volume-number/page-number. If the APS folds, they have a deal with the Library of Congress to provide electronic access to the material as a public domain archive.

   BA: There are five big journals: Science, Nature, Physical Review Letters, PNAS, and Cell. It is very important that the journal literature be refereed. www.arXiv.org works for physics, but not for biology. The web is democratizing. It is ok for authors to publish in obscure web journals, since it is just as easy for readers to find the articles.

2. There has been a burst in the availability of searchable, online, non-refereed literature, especially e-prints. What is the role, now, of non-refereed literature?

   GY: Libraries have been dealing with this for a long time. After talking with many physics faculty members at UIUC, I know that many physicists turn on their computer and the first thing they do is look at the e-print articles submitted to www.arXiv.org overnight. Physicists are relying on the non-refereed literature as a supplement and enhancement to the peer reviewed literature. We have the evidence that people are citing it.

   MRM: The role of mathematical e-prints is definitely expanding. Now, the date of posting to an electronic archive is considered to be the date that a theorem was proved - NOT the date that the article was published. Version control is very important. When a corrected article goes up, it is noted with a new date and version, and the older version is kept so that people can see what changes were made. The published journal literature is still very important. Publishers must improve their processes to provide faster peer review. Academics also need peer review for promotion and tenure.

   BK: Peer review is very important to the physics community. Publishers must speed up the peer review process. For example, it only took five days to review one article because it came from an e-print archive. Scientists think that the www.arXiv.org is very important. When Paul Ginsparg turned off this server for unscheduled maintenance, a lot of scientists were upset by the brief closure. This showed how important the server is to the scientific community.

   BA: There is no e-print archive equivalent for the field of biology. I don't see it happening. I don't trust or believe the e-print non-refereed biological literature.

   BK: What about E-Biomed, now called PubMed Central <http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/>, from the National Institutes of Health? This will be an interesting experiment. There will be a conference in July, 2000 to discuss the implications of such a biomedical e-print service.

   MRM: There are some major ACM and SIAM conference proceedings, such as STOC, FOCS, and SODA*. At some institutions, publication in important conference proceedings can be worth just as much as publication in peer-reviewed journals.

   GY: Many disciplines have e-print servers, such as astronomy, psychology, and economics. It is not just for the physicists.

   *ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing, Symposium on Foundations of ComputerScience, SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms

3. Most libraries have been fighting off crisis with journal cancellations for years. Are cost or pricing models being developed that would have a major impact on subscription prices?

   BK: The APS has developed a tiered pricing structure for the near future. Prices of their journals are calibrated to the Carnegie Research Institution size listing. The Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Technology and the Virtual Journal of Biophysics Research are models for new journals. The AIP and APS model brings together articles from multiple journals in a single table of contents; the editor selects the articles. Patrons can get access to all of the virtual journal articles even if the institution does not subscribe to all of the journals that the virtual journal articles were derived from. Publishers need to completely rethink the traditional publishing process. Traditional journals need to be "deconstructed."

   MRM: SIAM is providing institutional discounts and bundled packages, as well as student memberships. For example, Option D: one can get all 11 journals at 25% off list. And, extra e-journals at 50% off. SIAM is planning on doing away with set packages; there will be a la carte combinations, we'll let an institution make their own journal and format package.

   BA: This is the best of times, and it is the worst of times. The APS has a good idea with their virtual journals. We will start cross-linking with Science and Nature. The prices for many journals are obscene. Some publishers have bad reputations for the prices of their journals.

   GY: Most libraries are now skeletons of what was collected in the past. Libraries can no longer afford to be completely comprehensive for any one particular subject area. We need more pricing options. I would like to see more "pay as needed" systems set up from publishers. I would gladly pay $50-100 for a needed journal article than pay for a complete journal subscription. I would like to have the option of getting a journal "electronic only" in more cases. Creative consortial arrangements need to be used more often. However, with some consortia, small institutions can receive big benefits at the detriment of a high-paying larger institution. Electronic access to a journal should be automatically provided as part of a print subscription.

   BK: This is why the APS has implemented a tiered structure for differential pricing between larger and smaller institutions.

4. As the journal literature continues to grow explosively, how can search tools be developed to find information seamlessly, whether refereed or not, across formats?

   GY: The new search tools are providing unprecedented access. CrossRef (www.crossref.org) is working in that direction. I think there will eventually be one huge database that will link all full text to all full text from the notes and citations. The Internet will provide the means for that database to exist.

   BA: The INSPEC database is awkward to use. Even though it is supposed to be comprehensive in the field of physics, it does not cover all of the biophysics literature. Many important journals are not covered. I would like to see the Library of Congress (or some other large governmental body) provide free access to all journal articles.

   MRM: There is definitely a role for big government here. This is too big for commercial and society publishers to do. SIAM thinks of "searching" as linking. Math people usually think that way.

   BK: There are two problems associated with this. 1) How do you get all of this information and linking to be provided from one big database? 2) If there is "one huge database," this creates the problem of a monopoly. CrossRef does look like an interesting project that will facilitate linking, at least across publisher-mounted materials, but will not help with the grey literature, at least in its current implementation. PROLA has internal linking with the other Physical Review journals. SFX allows linking to multiple archives from one citation. PubScience is another current project. There are many good projects going on right now; all will create buds, but it is difficult to say which will bear fruit. We don't know which of the database projects will grow and prosper.

5. What, in view of the complexities of information access, is the most important action for scientists, librarians, and/or publishers to take to benefit scientific communication?

   BA: I want it all. I would like to see all journals online for free, and linking in all of the citations.

   GY: A good start would be for authors to retain copyright. Librarians need to better communicate with authors how much journals (and information in general) cost. There seem to be two prevailing models: 1) big commercial publishers that try to hold and control lots of scientific information, and 2) small society presses that try to provide as much access as possible for minimal costs. There is a clear need for fair competition in the scientific publication industry and for a greater variety of cost models.

   MRM: Avoid starting journals for personal glory. Publishers need to work together. Share standards, and spread the word to the global scientific community.

   BK: I remember a History Channel episode concerning the rapid push of new technology during WWI. Well, we are in a new war now. Publishers should be prepared to take evolutionary giant steps. All people involved including publishers, readers, authors, and librarians will need to change with the times.

   GY: UIUC is going to have a 2-day symposium concerning future models of e-publications. It will be sometime in October, 2000, but the exact date is not set. I will post a note on PAMnet when the details are finalized. APS and AIP will help sponsor the symposium.

AQ1: Gary Davidoff - The Societies have done a good job with technology, but there needs to be more marketing. (Maybe involving some Nobel prize winners?) What kind of marketing plans do you have?

BK - Yes. Marketing has not been a strong point of the APS. (Have an infomercial at 3:00 AM???) Libraries control the funding and access. Readers still demand print, even though it is not read. Middle-aged physicists seem to be the bloc for retaining print subscriptions. Guidon was a failure [audience laughter]. The move to .pdf was a success. Editors are still in a print mindset.

AQ2: Are publishers prepared to provide access to supplementary materials?

GY: Readers need to have permanence for the sources of data that they are citing.

BK: Article links are designed to be persistent and archival. The problem is with the archival aspect of the large data sets.

MRM: Are you talking about downloadable algorithms? SIAM is not equipped to host these and may not get permission from the author.

BA: There are some very large image files at 15+ megabytes.

MRM: It is not the society's responsibility to store the very large data sets and multimedia which supplement to the articles that are published.

AQ3: To Bob Austin - Why won't a preprint or eprint server work in biology? How do some of the subfields in biology use literature differently from some of the subfields in physics?

BA: Someone who specializes in a subfield in biology might need to read articles from a specialist in a different subfield. For example, someone interested in cell biology might need to read articles from a microbiologist. But, because they are in different subfields, the cell biologist does not necessarily know the research reputation of the microbiologist. If the biological literature was not highly refereed, the cell biologist might not trust what the microbiologist wrote. The high energy physics field is small enough that most people in the field know the reputation of all of the others.

Marc Brodsky, AIP Executive Director, commented in response to an earlier question: What can publishers do? There is no "real" archiving, and we can't make any real promises. But readers, authors and librarians need to trust that we will try. In the past, it was the librarians' responsibility to archive, and now that responsibility is being shifted to the publisher. Regarding costs: everyone has to pay their fair share. In the past, page charges were helpful in keeping library subscription costs down. The "slice and dice" model is interesting. Librarians should ask the various publishers for different article delivery methods.

AQ4: Bob Noel (Indiana University) asked Bob Kelly ­ what makes the virtual journals a good idea?

BK: Virtual journals limit growth but serve new interdisciplinary areas; they also serve a current awareness function. They represent a different delivery method and pricing model.

AQ5: Sarah Stevens-Rayburn (from STScI) ­ Comment to GY ­ Librarians can have great influence over where the authors submit their papers, and where readers get their information. I do not want a "slice and dice" model implemented at my library. I do not want to pay high prices for per article access. I need to have greater bibliographic control of journals, and to own the information received.

GY -­ UIUC is the local depository for many small and obscure science journals. Because UIUC is the only holder in the state for many of these journals, we are not allowed to cancel. I would prefer that the University just get electronic access to these obscure journals without having to own and retain print subscriptions.

AQ6: Deborah Kegel - I just came back from an ACM Conference where I found that many scientists liked the idea of an author identifier (similar to ISSN) field in databases, since it can be difficult to identify one Smith-JM from the others. What do the publishers think of this idea?

BK: Yes, it sounds like a good idea.

Bert Tepaske-King: Yes, it is a good idea. Math Reviews has been looking into it, but it is very expensive and time-consuming.

The moderator thanked the panelists and audience, and the session was adjourned.

Biographical Information

Moderator:

Emily L. Poworoznek <emily.poworoznek@unh.edu> Emily L. Poworoznek is Engineering and Physical Sciences Librarian and Assistant Professor at the University of New Hampshire, where she has been on the faculty since 1995. Her main professional focus is on reference, collection development, and the supervision of three ranch libraries covering chemistry, physics (with astronomy), mathematics, computer science, and four engineering specialities. She received her B.A. in Liberal Arts (Biology/Philosophy) from SUNY-Purchase in 1982, her M.S. in Botany from the University of New Hampshire (1986) and her M.L.I.S. from the University of Rhode Island (1993).

Panelists:

Robert H. Austin received his B.A. degree in physics in 1968. He attended the University of Illinois Urbana for graduate school, Department of Physics, and was fortunate to receive his Ph.D. in Physics under the guidance of Professor Hans Frauenfelder in 1975. He spent 3 years at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Germany, and then came to Princeton University in 1979 as an Assistant Professor in the Physics Department. He has remained at Princeton since then and is now a Full Professor. His interests have broadened over the years from protein dynamics, in which he still is involved using picosecond infrared light sources, to include DNA dynamics and DNA sequence-dependent structures and lately the use of microfabrication and nanofabrication technologies in biotechnology. This work has broadened to include fractionation of cells in microfabricated structures and ultra-rapid mixing techniques for protein folding. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science, Vice-president Elect of the Division of BIological Physics (APS), and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. His activities in electronic publishing include membership on the Publications Commmitte of the American Physical Society and he is presently the Editor of the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research (http://www.vjbio.org/). In his spare time he sleeps.

Robert (Bob) A. Kelly is Director of Journal Information Systems at the American Physical Society. He has held that position since the mid-1990's. Prior to coming to the APS, he was with IBM, where he did research on e-books.

Mary Rose Muccie started in publishing at J.B. Lippincott (now Lippincott Williams and Wilkins) in 1986 and over seven years held various positions in journal and book editorial production. She came to SIAM in 1993 as Managing Editor and became Journals Publisher in 1997. She currently oversees a department of 24 that handles the peer review, editing, composition, and production for SIAM's journals; the editing and production of SIAM's books; and the production of all SIAM printed and online material, including the SIAM and SIAM Journals Online websites. She is also in charge of journal product development, directs the marketing of SIAM's journals, and coordinates the activities of SIAM's library advisory committee.

Greg Youngen is Physics/Astronomy Librarian (and acting Geology librarian) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining the UIUC faculty, he spent several years as a contractor librarian in charge of library and records management services at research facilities at the US EPA and Department of Energy laboratories. Professor Youngen's research activities include the study of the growth and influence of pre-print archives and citation studies of electronic preprints in physics and astronomy. He also serves on the PAM Strategic Planning Committee and as PAM Vendor Liaison for Elsevier.

Page last updated: September 13, 2000