Julie M. Hurd

The transformation of scientific communication: A model for 2020

Information technologies, particularly the personal computer and the World Wide Web, are changing the ways that scientists communicate. The traditional print-based system that relies on the refereed scientific journal as the key delivery mechanism for research findings is undergoing a transformation to a system much more reliant on electronic communication and storage media. This article offers a new paradigm for communication in science, and suggests how digital media might bring new roles and functionalities to participants. The argument is made that behavioral and organizational determinants are as important factors as technological capabilities in shaping the future.

Scientific Communication: New Roles and New Players

SUMMARY Communication in science has evolved from a process dependent on print-on-paper to one increasingly reliant on electronic media as databases have replaced indexes and journals have shifted to electronic formats. This migration from print to electronic has transformed the roles of virtually all participants in the system of scientific communication. Scientist-authors, publishers, and librarians have all assumed new duties as the Internet and the World Wide Web have blurred boundaries and realigned responsibilities. This paper examines some of these changes in detail with reference to a communication model developed during a print-based time by sociologists William Garvey and Belver Griffith. An updated model of the current scientific communication system will be presented that incorporates developments that have changed the very nature of research and publishing and have altered, as well, the ways that libraries and librarians interact with scientists and publishers. The challenges associated with these changes are identified and discussed.

Performance measures for electronic journals: A user-centered approach

SUMMARY Libraries are spending increasing amounts to provide access to electronic journals. The decision to move toward digital collections is grounded in the belief that electronic journals offer significant benefits over their print counterparts. At present there is very little data to support that position because performance measures for electronic journals have not been fully developed. This paper describes a pilot study to test a methodology for evaluating electronic journals employing user-centered criteria. The study examined science and health sciences journal titles for which the library holds both paper and electronic subscriptions.

Evolving Electronic Journals: Accomplishments and Challenges

Abstract This article is an overview of the evolution of electronic journals (e-journals) with a focus on library management issues. The article will review some early difficulties that appear to be resolved, discuss current issues ranging from library policy to practical use of e-journals, and highlight some unresolved challenges.Abstract This article is an overview of the evolution of electronic journals (e-journals) with a focus on library management issues. The article will review some early difficulties that appear to be resolved, discuss current issues ranging from library policy to practical use of e-journals, and highlight some unresolved challenges.

The role of “unpublished” research in the scholarly communication of scientists: Digital preprints and bioinformation databases. Sponsored by SIG STI, SIG BIO, SIG PUB

The advent of the Internet has stimulated the emergence of novel methods of scientific discourse that have the potential to alter traditional communication channels. On a larger scale, new digital information resources have the capacity to change both the way scientists work and the core of scientific knowledge. Historically the hallmark of scientific communication has been the publication of research findings in a peer-reviewed journal. On its route to the journal, the research may be communicated in many other forms, including conference proceedings, technical reports, and preprints. Recently, models of scientific communication have been updated to include electronic submission of manuscripts, virtual conferences, e-mail, and online journal publication. In fact, electronic preprints have become a primary mode of information dissemination in physics and astronomy. In contrast, biomedical scientists are reluctant to accept the electronic preprint as a viable mode for their scholarly communication due to the lack of peer-review and the uncertain permanence of electronic storage. These same scientists, however, are willing to share their DNA and protein sequence data by depositing it in a variety of the more than 200 publicly available web-based databases including GenBank and the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database. The panelists in this session will discuss the current and potential impact of these large, dynamic, yet not peer-reviewed, information warehouses on the scholarly communication of scientific researchers. Their insights will provide a fresh prospective on the ways scientists in a range of disciplines are coping with the 21st century digital information flood.

The library of the future: Interweaving the virtual and the physical. Sponsored by SIG USE, SIG DL, SIG ED

It is increasingly easy to imagine the time in the future when most of the information and some of the support needed by library users is available electronically. The ways that people will interact with information will change, and libraries will need to design spaces that seamlessly combine the physical and the virtual. Such a library environment of the future is approaching quite rapidly in some disciplines. This panel uses a recent architectural study conducted by Hillier and DEGW Architectural Consultants for the Welch Medical Library of Johns Hopkins University to explore the implications of the library of the future on the design of the physical library facilities, considering especially changing patterns of use and the roles of librarians.