The intent of this model (see Figure below) is to allow the widest range of scientific manuscripts to be archived, searched, and distributed electronically at the lowest possible cost. The primary goal is to significantly reduce the amount of material distributed in a commercial manner. This would be accomplished through very minimal filtering and subsequent placement of eprints on a non-commercial archival server by a subject-specific Moderator appointed by a society (or consortia of societies). It would function in the manner of an online ERIC Clearinghouse.
A society appointed Editorial Board (with double-blind peer review approved by the non-profit Peer Review Inc. organization) would then the identify the most important materials from among these archived items, and the stamp of approval for these items would be included in a secondary Virtual Collection. This Virtual Collection, or other spin-offs such as enhanced abstracts, SDI services, and email threads, would be easier to use for browsing and/or having abstracts sent electronically to individual researchers. There are no direct submissions to the Editorial Board; manuscripts would be directed to the Editorial Board in one of three ways:
1. nominated by the eprint Moderator upon receipt for the archival server,
2. notification sent to the Editorial Board when a threshold number of hits are generated by any one manuscript on the archive server, and
3. nominated by readers of material from the archive; this process requires a letter of support outlining the importance of the work to the Editorial Board.
The Virtual Collection could be produced as a variety of products:
This process:
The funding for this archiving server and Virtual Collection infrastructure would come from a blend of Direct (professional societies, and author page charges) and Indirect (government, taxes) sources. This would reduce the cost and guarantee the judicious selection of materials for the Virtual Collection.
The support of the Virtual Collection infrastructure could be provided by a blend of commercial and non-commercial sources, depending upon the resale value of the eventual end products. Some disciplines may be attractive for commercial support of editorial boards while other areas may only have non-commercial support. The sophistication of the end products may be related to the commercial viability of the content.
Promotion and tenure decisions would be based upon both Virtual Collection and archival materials. This step would significantly reduce the need to subsidize the most expensive distribution process as the only means of meeting the publish-or-perish tenure process requirements.
This material has been reprinted and included as pages 168-171 in:
Stern, David. Guide to Information Sources in the Physical Sciences.
Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, 2000.
created by:
David Stern
Director of Science Libraries and Information Services
Kline Science Library
219 Prospect Street
P.O. Box 208111
New Haven, CT 06520-8111
phone: 203 432-3447
fax: 203 432-3441
email: david.e.stern@yale.edu
last modification date: January 25, 1999