Physics News
This is a bit of a catch-up column, with a summary of Physics items discussed on the listserv from March–October 2008.
Publisher information is an important part of listserv communication. The APS provided press releases on a number of items including announcement of a new online-only journal (Physics), 2009 journal price information, providing an explanation for permissions for adding content to online sources such as Wikipedia, leaving copyright with authors to distribute derivatives of APS articles and works, and a milestone papers series celebrating the 50th anniversary of Physical Review Letters.
The AIP provided announcements of milestones such as publication of the 1,000th proceedings volume from AIP, citing article links available in Scopus, 2009 journal price information, and discussions of availability of proceedings in e-book format. List members also discussed locating a ghost article in an AIP proceedings volume.
Other publishing information centered on Open Access and new publishing models. Physics is adapting to these new models by the APS providing clarification on the SPARC Author Ad-denda (APS), a focal meeting for SCOAP3 participants in March hosted by UC Berkeley and the California Digital Library, and a discussion of the JHEP Open access scheme from listserv members. There was also discussion on PAM supporting the SCOAP3 project on the list. The arXiv repository also reached an important milestone in October – the 500,000th article was deposited.
Discussion on these areas is expected to continue in the coming months. In addition to commercial publisher updates and general discussion on publishing activity, OSTI announced the release of DOE Data Explorer.
Achievements in physics were celebrated, the most significant the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics, as well as a 90th birthday greeting to Physics Uspekhi and the anonymous donation of $5 million to Fermilab. The announcement of the Science Information System for High Energy Physics Labs was also of interest to the list. List members also reminisced over John Wheeler’s links to librarianship and his support of the profession. Acknowledgment was also given to a recent letter authored by member Dana Roth in Physics Today.
Reference and information questions in Physics are also an important feature of the discussion list. List members discussed several issues in recent months, including the costs of a limited-edition collection of Neils Bohr papers, a quote from Max Planck, a general discussion of information resources in High-Energy Physics, and an update on IET DOI links.
In lighter news, the list also celebrated the recent publication showing X-rays can be detected from Scotch Tape, the concern over Oprah launching her own reality, and the Friday afternoon Physics rap. It’s not all serious discussion!
Elizabeth Brown
Scholarly Communications and Library Grants Officer
Binghamton University Libraries
