Hardin Scholarly Communication News

Open-access publishing was headed on a collision course with traditional models of scientific publishing since well before the Public Library of Science launched its first journal. The force of that collision has seen dramatic shifts in the publishing landscape that include increased support from funding agencies for open-access publishing models and institutional archiving, greater availability of free-access articles and options from subscription-based publishers, and the launch of new open-access journals.

Read on at:
http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0030296

[PLoS Biology, v. 3 no. 8 (August) 2005]

Susan Morrissey, Chemical Society Offers Resolution In PubChem Debate, Chemical & Engineering News, October 3, 2005. Excerpt:

The American Chemical Society has offered an olive branch to the National Institutes of Health in the ongoing dispute over PubChem, the agency’s small-molecule database. The three-part proposal focuses on areas of “common ground” and puts aside the two groups’ philosophical differences. (C&EN is published by ACS.) “It’s time to put aside the divisive philosophical differences in favor of reaching an accord on key operational issues,” ACS President William F. Carroll said in a statement to C&EN. “We trust [NIH Director Elias A.] Zerhouni’s assurances that PubChem is not headed toward duplication of the CAS Registry and that PubChem truly will be complementary, not competitive,” he explained. In a Sept. 22 letter to Zerhouni, ACS seeks confirmation that PubChem will not “disseminate information on the commercial availability of compounds.” ACS also expressed concern in the letter over the quality of data being put into PubChem. The letter asks NIH –which has noted that it is open to additional safeguards– to take steps to ensure the data are original prior to submission. The letter also asks NIH to introduce a predissemination process to “ensure that data are pertinent and derived from established, bona fide sources.” According to an agency spokesman, “NIH leadership is carefully reviewing the letter and is preparing a response. NIH continues to work with ACS on this issue and is hopeful that a resolution will be reached in the near future.”

[Open Access News, 10/1/05]

Springer Science and Business Media, the German scientific, technical, and medical (STM) publisher, is being prepared for a stock market IPO (initial public offering) in 2006 or 2007 by Candover and Cinven, according to a report in _Information World Review_. Springer is the world’s second largest journal publisher after Reed Elsevier. Candover and Cinven bought Springer from German media empire Bertelsmann Group for Euro 1.5 billion in 2003. Following the acquisition of Springer, Candover and Cinven merged Springer with Kluwer Academic Publishing, which they had acquired in October 2002 from Wolters Kluwer.

[Sparc e-news, Aug-Sept 2005] 

The American Library Association’s (ALA) public opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act has the Executive Board concerned that, just maybe, the Federal Bureau Investigation is keeping tabs on the organization. In a September 8 conference call, the board approved the initiation of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request regarding the possible collection of information on ALA by federal law enforcement agencies. Office for Intellectual Freedom director Judith Krug, whose office is preparing a FOIA request, said that the move was not prompted by any specific incident, but noted that ALA is following the lead of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), another vocal Patriot Act opponent.

"ACLU has information which leads it to believe that the federal government may be surveilling organizations that have actively opposed the Patriot Act, either in whole or in part" Krug said. "In order to verify this or discount it, ACLU has filed a FOIA request. When this became public, several of ALA’s councilors said, in regards to our efforts… we also might want to query the FBI to determine whether our staff, our members, or the organization itself is being surveilled."

[Library Journal Academic Newswire (TM), The Publishing Report, September 15, 2005]

New titles: 

Head & Face Medicine
Fulltext v1+ (2005+)
http://www.head-face-med.com/
ISSN: 1746-160X
The purpose of the new journal is to foster progress in interdisciplinary diagnostics, therapy and research of pathologic conditions of the human head and face by raising new scientific questions which demand new ways of thinking to improve medical quality.

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
Fulltext v1+ (2005+)
http://www.ethnobiomed.com/
ISSN: 1746-4269
The Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine aims to promote the exchange of original knowledge and research in any area of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine. Specifically, the journal will cover the following topics: ethnobotany, ethnozoology, ethnoecology, ethnopharmacy, ethnomedicine, ethnoveterinary, traditional medicines, traditional healthcare in households and domestic arenas, migrant healthcare/urban ethnobiology, pluralistic healthcare in developing countries, evidence-based community health, visual ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, gender studies and ethnobiology, as well as other related areas in nutritional, medical and visual anthropology.

Immunome Research
Fulltext v1+ (2005+)
http://www.immunome-research.com/
ISSN: 1745-7580
Immunome Research is a journal of the International Immunomics Society (IIMMS) <http://research.i2r.a-star.edu.sg/IIMMS/>. The journal aims to provide a focal point for the field of Immunomics, which lies at the intersection between traditional laboratory research and the latest research technologies. It thereby includes the sub-speciality immunoinformatics, as well as the application of large-scale genomics to the immune system. Rapidly expanding areas of particular interest include the predicting of MHC-peptide binding, mathematical modelling of viral/host interactions, and the use of gene expression arrays to model immune system pathways.

Forthcoming titles:
 
Biological Knowledge
http://www.biologicalknowledge.com/
ISSN: 1745-4743

Biology Direct
http://www.biology-direct.com/
ISSN: 1745-6150

Diagnostic Pathology
http://www.diagnosticpathology.org/
ISSN: 1746-1596

International Breastfeeding Journal
http://www.internationalbreastfeedingjournal.com/
ISSN: 1746-4358

Journal of Biomedical Discovery and Collaboration
http://www.j-biomed-discovery.com/
ISSN: 1747-5333

Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine
http://www.peh-med.com/
ISSN: 1747-5341

Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
http://www.substanceabusepolicy.com/
ISSN: 1747-597X

Synthetic and Systems Biology
http://www.ssbjournal.com/
ISSN: 1747-8332

Among the more compelling reasons for open access in scholarly communications are…the alternatives. One such is employing usage statistics as an economic factor, whether in purchase or cancellation decisions, or per-use pricing. To paraphrase Andrew Odlyzkow: usage based pricing can be very effective: the trouble is, you might not like the effects. Among the potential effects of usage-based pricing are disincentives to use, less diversity and more conservatism in scholasticism.

This theme is explored in detail in a book chapter (preprint, final copy) by Heather Morrison:
The implications of usage statistics as an economic factor in scholarly communications, forthcoming in "Usage Statistics of E-Serials" by David Fowler (editor). Published by the Haworth Press [2005]. Part of the "Haworth Series on Serials Librarianship and Continuing Resources".
http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/1639

Chapter Abstract
Usage statistics for electronic resources are needed, and highly desirable, for many reasons. It is encouraging to see the beginnings of quality, reliable usage data. This data can form the basis of economic decisions (selection and cancellation) that make a great deal of sense in the context of the individual library. However, the cumulative effects of such decisions could have serious implications for scholarly communications. For example, the journals of small research communities could easily be vulnerable to mass cancellations, and might fold. Fortunately, open access provides an alternative. The question of whether the impact of local decisions on scholarly communications as a whole should be taken into account in collection development policies is raised. The possibility that usage statistics could form the basis for a usage-based pricing system is discussed, and found to be highly inadvisable, as usage-based pricing tends to discourage usage.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has appealed a federal judge’s ruling that would allow a Connecticut librarian to speak about a National Security Letter (NSL) it has received requesting library records under Section 505 of the USA Patriot Act. In a motion filed late last week with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, the government argued that even releasing the identity of the librarian might tip off the subject of their investigation. "[O]nce information that should remain confidential has been publicly disclosed, the genie is out of the bottle and we have not the means to put the genie back," DOJ lawyers wrote in the appeal. The motion comes, as expected, following U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall’s September 9 ruling that lifted the Patriot Act proscribed gag order. Hall had granted an 11-day stay for the appeal to be filed. Despite Hall’s ruling, government lawyers say the mandatory gag is constitutional because protecting national security and their investigations trump the right to free speech. No date was given for the appeal to be heard.

[Library Journal Academic Newswire (TM), September 20, 2005]