The future of scientific journals Free Web access

The future of scientific journals: Free Web access?

Refereed articles • • Make research results public Put research results in context Establish permanent record Certify quality

“… all papers in all fields, systematically interconnected, effortlessly accessible and rationally navigable, from any researcher’s desk, worldwide for free. ” Stevan Harnad

Authors do not want or expect royalties

Journal articles are “give aways”

Outline • History and new prospects • For fee or free? • Getting there

Brief History

Brief history of journal publishing Approximate dates: 1665 -1965 Chief publishers: Scientific societies Chief source of $$: Dues

Brief history of journal publishing Approximate dates: 1665 -1965 -1980 Chief publishers: Scientific societies Chief source of $$: Dues Page charges

Brief history of journal publishing Approximate dates: 1665 -1965 Chief publishers: Chief source of $$: 1965 -1980 Scientific societies Dues Page charges 1980 -1995 Commercial publishers Library subscriptions

“Serials crisis”

2000 1800 Relative price (1970=100) 1600 1400 Journals 1200 1000 800 600 Books 400 Consumer Price Index 200 0 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

35 Cost per m 2 printed area (constant $$) Journal of Insect Physiology 30 Physiological Entomology Journal of Applied Entomology 25 Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology Florida Entomologist Canadian Entomologist 20 Journal of Economic Entomology 15 10 5 0 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

Prices of Elsevier journals, 1995 and 1998. Title Brain Research Gene J. Exp. Mar. Biol. & Ecol. Solid State Commun. 1995 price 1998 price Change $10, 181 3, 924 $15, 428 6, 433 51. 5% 63. 9% 1, 947 2, 931 50. 5% 1, 945 2, 871 47. 6%

Bigger budgets buy fewer titles!

Fewer locally held titles = Less convenient, less complete access

New Prospects

Computers + Internet

Formats for e-distribution • PDF (Portable Document Format) Articles look and print as originally formatted.

Formats for e-distribution • PDF (Portable Document Format) • HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) – Browser interprets tags to format document – Can be made highly interactive.

Advantages of e-distribution • More convenient access

Advantages of e-distribution • More convenient access • Paper copies (“e-reprints”) can be printed as wanted

Advantages of e-distribution • More convenient access • Paper copies (“e-reprints”) can be printed as wanted • Need cost little extra

Traditional Distribution Flo Ento rida molo gist s e su Is ep R ts in r Librar y User

Traditional Distribution Flo Ento rida molo gist s e su Is ts in r ep R FTP Electronic Distribution Librar y User

Extra costs of parallel distribution: the low and the high • PDF files: as little as 90¢ per page

Extra costs of parallel distribution: the low and the high • PDF files: as little as 90¢ per page • HTML (with PDF and security): $13 to $30 per page

Parallel distribution will be replaced by e-only distribution

Savings from e-only publication At least two-thirds of costs of paper publication

Approximate costs per article Traditional system: $12, 000 • Revenues to publishers ca. $4, 000 • Operating costs of libraries ca. $8, 000 Odlyzko 1999

Library operating costs (per volume per year) (total budget-purchases) volumes held Mean = $3. 20 (Six university libraries; data from ARL 1999; also, see Odlyzko 1999)

Approximate costs per article E-only publication: <$4, 000 • Revenues to publishers ca. $3, 000 • Operating costs of servers <$1, 000

Enhancements possible • • • color illustrations internal and external hyperlinks audio & video clips extensive appendices online discussion/criticism of articles

Who will pay and how?

For Fee or Free?

Fee Access Subscriptions $ Publishers Usernames and passwords Site Licenses $$$ cr. bs Su Editing, reviewing, composing Internet addresses Site L. Pa y. P $ er Vie w Credit cards Individual subscriptions Institutions’ staff and affiliated personnel Everyone else Free Access Authors and/or their institutions $$ Publishers Editing, reviewing, composing Everyone on the Internet

E-only journals: for fee or free? • Both much cheaper than traditional system • Payers largely the same • For free is cheaper than for fee

Why access should be free • Costs less • Allows free access to current articles

Access to full text of articles from online indexes • Current Contents Connect • Biological Abstracts (Web version)

Why access should be free • Costs less • Allows free access to current articles • Enables a seamless Web of primary research literature

Jumping to full-text of cited references $ $ Journal of Economic Entomology Bulletin of Entomological Research Journal of Insect Physiology $ $ Ecological Entomology Canadian Entomologist

$ $ Web of journals, with tollgates $ $ $ $

Web of journals, free access

“…all papers in all fields, systematically interconnected, effortlessly accessible and rationally navigable, from any researcher’s desk, worldwide for free. ” Stevan Harnad, 1999

Why access should be free • • Costs less Free access to current articles Seamless Web Serves the interests of – researchers – research institutions – granting agencies – research libraries – the public

So who’s against free access?

Against free access • Commercial publishers • Some paid executives of large societies

The goal: Free Web Access

Getting There

Getting to free Web access • Self archive – On authors’ home pages – In institutions’ Web-accessible archives – On central servers (cf. physicists’ e -print archive)

Getting to free Web access • Self archive • Stop copyright giveaways – authors – sponsors of research

Substitute copyright release I hereby transfer to [publisher of journal] all rights to sell or lease the text of [paper]. I retain the right only to distribute it for free for scholarly/scientific or educational purposes, in particular, the right to archive it publicly online on the Web. Suggested by Stefano Ghirlanda Zoologiska Institutionen, Stockholms Universitet (Modeled after American Physical Society’s policy)

Getting to free Web access • Self archive • Stop copyright giveaways

Getting to free Web access • Self archive • Stop copyright giveaways • Foster e-reprints =immediate free Web access (“IFWA”)

Electronic reprints

Getting to free Web access • Self archive • Stop copyright giveaways • Foster e-reprints “Win-win”

Fostering e-reprints is win-win • Publishers win because their profits are greater

Fostering e-reprints is win/win • Publishers win because their profits are greater • Authors win because they can buy IFWA for their articles cheaply

Getting to free Web access • Self archive • Stop copyright giveaways • Foster e-reprints “Win-win” Market-driven transition

E-reprints: market-driven transition to free, all-e journals • As sales of e-reprints (IFWA) increase, subscriptions may decline

E-reprints: market-driven transition to free, all-e journals • As sales of e-reprints (IFWA) increase, subscriptions may decline • If cost of offering e-reprints increases, price should increase

E-reprints: market-driven transition to free, all-e journals • As sales of e-reprints (IFWA) increase, subscriptions may decline • If cost of offering e-reprints increases, price should increase • Most authors and their sponsors will pay the higher (but fair) prices

E-reprints: market-driven transition to free, all-e journals • Most authors and their sponsors will pay the higher (but fair) prices • Decline in subscription revenues and increase in IFWA revenues will lead to the simultaneous ending of subscriptions and paper publication

What should researchers do? They should petition their societies to— • Offer e-reprints (IFWA) at a fair price

What should researchers do? They should petition their societies to— • Offer e-reprints (IFWA) at a fair price • Free remaining articles 1 to 2 years after publication

Some societies that free all articles after 2 yrs or less. • • American Physiological Society American Society for Cell Biology American Society of Microbiology American Society of Pharmacology American Society of Plant Physiologists Biophysical Society for Neuroscience

What should researchers do? They should petition their societies to— • Offer e-reprints (IFWA) at a fair price • Free remaining articles 1 to 2 years after publication • Start making earlier back files freely Web accessible

Florida Entomological Society

“Any scientist … will be able to view and to print any article in any journal published by a scientific society. ” FES Executive Committee, May 1993

FES: All articles on the Internet as soon as paper-published • May 1993 Concept approved • Nov. 1994 First articles posted • 1994 -date All articles free on the Internet immediately after publication

FES: All articles on the Internet as soon as paper-published • 1994 -date All articles free on the Internet • Aug. 1995 Articles moved from Gopher and FTP to Web • Dec. 1995 Service described as “Electronic-reprints included in page charges”

FES: All articles on the Internet as soon as paper-published • • 1994 -date Aug. 1995 Dec. 1995 May 1998 All articles free on the Internet Move to Web “Electronic reprints” Full-text searching enabled for all articles (1994 -date)

Library subscriptions

Library subscriptions Florida Entomologist

Library subscriptions

FES: Back-issue project • 1917 -1994 issues = ca. 20, 000 pages

FES: Back-issue project • 1917 -1994 issues = ca. 20, 000 pages • Digitized for <60¢ per page – each issue indexed – all pages scanned at 600 dpi – OCR with 99. 95% accuracy and full-text index made with OCR file – halftones specially scanned

FES: Back-issue project • 1917 -1994 issues = ca. 20, 000 pages • Digitized for <60¢ per page • FCLA provided programming for making PDF files (no charge)

FES: Back-issue project • 1917 -1994 issues = ca. 20, 000 pages • Digitizing <60¢ per page • FCLA provided programming for making PDF files (no charge) • April 1999: All issues on Web – Convenience for users – Savings for libraries

Savings for libraries Creating Web access (one-time cost) $12, 000 + FCLA programming Providing access to paper (annual cost) 67 300 -page volumes $3/volume/year 100 libraries 67 x $3 x 100 = $20, 000

FES: Summary • All articles, 1917 to date, freely accessible on the Web • Cost of publishing increased <$3 per page • Little impact on publishing revenues (yet) • No new fees (yet)

Entomological Society of America

ESA: Electronic reprints (IFWA) • • Dec. 1995: GB approves Dec. 1996: GB approves again June 1997: GB cancels approval June 1999: GB approves again and votes to sell IFWA for less

ESA: Electronic reprints (IFWA) • • Dec. 1995: GB approves Dec. 1996: GB approves again June 1997: GB cancels approval June 1999: GB approves again and votes to sell IFWA for less • Jan. 2000: First IFWA (e-reprints) sold • Apr. 2000: IFWA sales to be publicized

ESA: E-distribution of journals • Oct 1998: GB votes to put ESA journals on the Web in PDF and HTML – Journals of Economic Entomology – Annals of the Entomological Society of America – Environmental Entomology – Journal of Medical Entomology

ESA: E-distribution of journals • Oct 1998: GB votes to put journals on Web • Mar-Dec 1999: Free trial • Jan 2000: Access by subscription or site license only

ESA: E-distribution of journals • Economics – Cost $56, 000 per year (ca. $14 per page published) – E-version access sold only with paper version

ESA: E-distribution of journals • Economics – Cost $56, 000 per year (ca. $14 per page published) – E-version access sold only with paper version – Surcharge $15 for members ($40 for nonmembers) – Surcharge $80 for libraries

ESA: E-distribution of journals • Economics – Cost $56, 000 per year (ca. $14 per page published) – E-version access sold only with paper version – Surcharge $15 for members ($40 for nonmembers) – Surcharge $80 for libraries – Losses to be held to no more than $80, 000 for 2000 -2004

NIH’s Pub. Med Central • Aug 1999: NIH announces PMC – PMC to provide free, permanent posting for “freed” life-science articles – Only publishers can post to PMC • Feb 2000: PMC online

ESA: Pub. Med Central (PMC) • Dec 1999: GB votes to offer authors PMC-posted e-reprints • Dec 1999: GB votes to investigate putting all articles on PMC two years after publication

ESA: Summary • Restricted-access e-publication: may lose money • Selling IFWA at a fair price: profits certain

ESA: Summary • Restricted-access e-publication: may lose money • Selling IFWA at a fair price: profits certain • Studying how to transition

The End

Gateway site to journal e-pub Point your browser to http: //csssrvr. entnem. ufl. edu/~walker/ tjwbib/walker. htm or to University of Florida Dept. Entomology and Nematology Gainesville faculty T. J. Walker Web access to traditionally published journals

Would you— • Sign a petition? – Generic resolution asking scientific society to promote free access • Try an alternative copyright release? – Details in “Copyright HOWTO” • Dare to post your old articles on Web? – Handout explaining how to do it and whether you should

FES: Info. Links Price $45 (same as charge for one page) • Appended information linked to e-version of TOC • Sep. 1997 Approved • Dec. 1997 Implemented • June 1998 Permanent posting arranged ($1 per MB)