comment - new frontiers in scientific publishing

leighton chipperfield

around the world, the ways in which scientific research is published and accessed has begun to attract significant attention. i joined sgm in august 2012 with an exciting remit: to modernise our publishing business and prepare sgm for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. so what is happening and how is sgm responding?

1. planning for a sustainable future

like many learned societies, sgm is actively involved in the dialogue on open access (oa). across science, the proportion of oa articles is increasing, although most research is still published in subscription-based journals. with governments, funding bodies and even institutions all developing their own oa policies, the global picture remains complex, and it seems likely that different geographies and disciplines will move at their own pace.

for societies like sgm, oa presents both challenges and opportunities. under the ‘gold’ oa model supported by the uk finch report, revenue to a journal would shift from traditional subscriptions to author fees underwritten by funding bodies. for sgm, the main opportunities of oa lie in increasing usage of our existing journals, and providing an alternative model for launching new titles in future.

whatever model proves sustainable for an individual publication, the only certainty is that authors will continue to be its lifeblood. now more than ever, societies like sgm need to ensure their publications are relevant and compelling, offering a high level of service to our valued authors and doing more to ensure they return again and again.

2. digital is here

when i entered scientific publishing in 1999, print was still king. speak to a librarian now and the message has changed dramatically. the functionality, speed, searchability and measurement of the online journal had already begun to make print redundant before the dawn of mobile. latest data supports the change in reading habits, showing that researchers are accessing more articles online, but spending less time reading each one. yet, infrastructure limitations in some developing countries mean any type of e-access remains problematic. and a hardcore of personal customers still like to receive their print journal.

whilst providing this choice of ‘delivery channel’ is desirable, it comes at additional cost to the publisher – and ultimately the reader. it is clear that most if not all scientific publication will ultimately move to a fully digital environment. the speed with which print dies is up for debate!

3. global authorship

the transition of journal usage from print to digital over the past 10 years has coincided with the widespread adoption of online submission and peer-review systems. these developments have opened up a global market of authors and readers for previously ‘local’ journals.

the last decade has also seen the growth of certain countries’ output of research papers, primarily driven by r&d investment. notably, china has consistently increased its article share over the past 15 years, now accounting for 1 in 10 published papers – surpassing traditional big players such as the uk, japan and germany. along with brazil and india, papers from china form the highest area of submissions growth for sgm’s titles. at sgm we will be engaging more proactively with microbiology authors worldwide, ensuring that we bring readers the best microbiology research from wherever it may emanate.

and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. we’re also considering how developments such as the ‘semantic web’, text and data mining, and social media can make our content ever more rich and discoverable.

there has never been a more exciting time to be involved in publishing great science – and we’d like you to get involved. after all, these are your publications.

look out for more information on the new sgm website.

leighton chipperfield, head of publishing at sgm (email [email protected]; twitter @leightonc)