Publishers, publishing and the Internet: How journal publishing will survive and prosper in the electronic age
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb045545 |
| Date | 01 February 1997 |
| Pages | 125-131 |
| Published date | 01 February 1997 |
| Author | John E. Cox |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
ARTICLE
Publishers, publishing and the
Internet: how journal publishing
will survive and prosper in the
electronic age
John E. Cox
Managing Director, Carfax Publishing Company, PO Box 25,
Abingdon,
Oxon
OX
14 3UE,
UK
E-mail: john.cox@carfax.co.uk
Abstract:
The
role of
the publishing process
in adding
value
to,
and
disseminating,
scholarship
and
research
is
independent
of the means of
output.
It
comprises
the
preparation
and
packaging
of
information
in a form
easily accessible
by the
user.
It
includes
the
technical processes
of
editing,
peer
review
and
revision,
publi-
cation and
marketing.
The publishing process
must
continue
to
provide
a
guarantee
of
quality
that is recog-
nised
throughout
the
academic
community.
The
emerging importance
of
the
Internet
does
not
change
that
role
in
principle
but it
does have considerable
impact on
how publishers function
in the future:
1.
Publishers
need to supplement
existing
skills with the
acquisition
of new skills in
developing multimedia
material
and
facilitating interaction between scholars without detracting from the authority
of
the definitive
publication;
2.
Publishers
will
become custodians
of intellectual property rather
than producers
of
printed
artefacts.
They
must
add
more value
to the
literature
by
exploiting different media
for
different purposes
or user
require-
ments;
3.
Publishers
will
have
to acquire much more
hands-on knowledge
of, and
navigation
through,
the laws of
copyright
and
contract,
especially
in
respect
of
the international
legal
aspects
of
electronic
publishing;
4.
Publishers
will
work more closely
in
partnership
with
universities
and
the research community
in order
to
deliver electronic information effectively
and
easily
to
end-users.
Printed
and
electronic editions
of
the
journal
literature
will
complement each
other;
their respective strengths
and
weaknesses
will
be analysed in this
paper.
Journals will
become interest groups
in
which
papers will be
placed.
New
definitions
of
'publication',
'journal'
and 'literature' will be
required.
1. The publishing role
The process of publishing is often confused with the
printed artefact that has, for the past four centuries,
been publishers' only medium of output. In reality,
publishing is concerned with the refinement,
packaging, presentation and marketing of
intellectual property rather than with the process of
imposing characters and images on paper. The
publisher's
design,
typography, specifications for
paper, printing and
binding,
and the
marketing,
distribution and pricing of the product are required to
transform a raw manuscript into something that
readers want to buy or have access to. The
publisher's role is to make products out of
ideas.
The process of publishing lies at the heart of
scholarly communication because it adds value to
the raw material received from the author. Rarely
does a paper reach a publisher in a state ready to
publish.
Authors' strengths lie at the cutting edge of
research in their particular subjects. That is quite
different from expecting them to be expert in
design,
typographical layout, copy
editing,
marketing or
distribution.
This paper surveys the challenges facing scholarly
journal publishing, and the skills that publishers
bring — and will continue to bring — to the scholarly
publishing process. Much will change but much will
remain the
same!
The Electronic Library, Vol. 15, No. 2, April 1997 125
To continue reading
Request your trial