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Elsevier Science's current global
criticism about the soaring cost of a scholarly journal is a problem of the
state of scientific communication, and how future scientific
communication is carried out should depend on selection of a researcher
after all.
If it also continues introducing the electronic journal corresponding
to the printed one into libraries where it is difficult to work out the budget
which carries out continuation purchase of the high expensive journal,
purchase expense will increase at a snow Dharma formula. If it does so, it
will actually have caused the situation where the journal often read also
cannot help but be cancelled to a current budget. Incidentally, in
Nippon Medical School, 27
titles (about 10 million yen) of journals from Elsevier will be cancelled this year.
Therefore, in order to normalize the state of unusual scientific
communication, "3-Nots-Movement" below;
1)libraries do not subscribe to those journals
2)researchers do not contribute a paper to those journals
3)researchers do not become peer-reviewers and editors of those journals
is considered to be indispensable. And an extremely high priced journal
should be disregarded, and the direction which raises the journal of its
own country or "open access" journals should be promoted.
Journal publishers are a business like any other (1). If they do not
make a profit the business will not survive. The market will influence
the success of journal publishers. As seen with BMJ, nothing is free,
although the concept of free access is certainly the most desirable and
may enjoy the highest readership. But we always need to remember,
regardless of the journal, it is a business.
1. Dyer O. US universities threaten to cancel subscriptions to
Elsevier journals. BMJ 2004; 318:543.
Competing interests:
Associate Editor of a scientific journal
Unusual scientific communication
Elsevier Science's current global
criticism about the soaring cost of a scholarly journal is a problem of the
state of scientific communication, and how future scientific
communication is carried out should depend on selection of a researcher
after all.
If it also continues introducing the electronic journal corresponding
to the printed one into libraries where it is difficult to work out the budget
which carries out continuation purchase of the high expensive journal,
purchase expense will increase at a snow Dharma formula. If it does so, it
will actually have caused the situation where the journal often read also
cannot help but be cancelled to a current budget. Incidentally, in
Nippon Medical School, 27
titles (about 10 million yen) of journals from Elsevier will be cancelled this year.
Therefore, in order to normalize the state of unusual scientific
communication, "3-Nots-Movement" below;
1)libraries do not subscribe to those journals
2)researchers do not contribute a paper to those journals
3)researchers do not become peer-reviewers and editors of those journals
is considered to be indispensable. And an extremely high priced journal
should be disregarded, and the direction which raises the journal of its
own country or "open access" journals should be promoted.
Competing interests:
scientific communication
Competing interests: No competing interests