Fishman, B.

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UCL Discovery

BioMedCentralFree, open access to research papersBecky FishmanMembership Directorbecky@biomedcentral.comhttp://www.biomedcentral.comBioMedCentralIndependent online publishing house committed to providing peer-reviewed research across all areas of biology and medicine, with immediate, barrier-free open access for all.Part of the Current Science Group of independent companies collaborating to publish and develop information and services for the professional biomedical communityOffices in London, New York, Philadelphia and TokyoScientificPublishing….What is the current publishing model?What’s wrong with it?What are the alternatives?CurrentModelSubscription or licence, payable to obtain accessAuthors hand over copyrights to the publisherContent is being soldJournals are quasi-monopolistic‘We think of the publishers as being like a midwife…They are paid for their role, and at the end of the day, they give the baby back to the parents’Mike Eisen–Public Library Of Science“What are publishers doing for us?”‘I think scientists all over would be shocked to realise what a phenomenally lucrative business scientific publishing can be.’Nicholas Cozzarelli-editor in chief of the PNASScientificPublishing….What is the current publishing model?What’s wrong with it?Traditional role of the publisher is under scrutinySubscriptions and licences limit accessTo be useful, research must be used To be used (read, cited, applied, extended) it must be accessiblePrices do not reflect quality or costsSubscription prices have increased by as much as 146% in 10 years –e.g.Brain Research1991: £3,7132001: £9,148 Authors lose rightse.g. to put their paper on a publicly accessible serverOften inefficient and slowScientificPublishing….What is the current publishing model?What’s wrong with it?What are the alternatives?WhatAlternatives?Open AccessAchieved by reversingthe business modelFrom output-paid, to input-paidNo subscription/licensing chargesArticle Processing Charges Further financed by alternative revenues such as advertisingOpen AccessPubMed CentralPubMed Central –public initiative sponsored by NIH  http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/Provides free online access to the full text of life science research articlesDoes not accept publications directly from authorsExisting publishers can contribute by making original research papers available through PubMed CentralOpen AccessPLoSPublic Library of Science open letter initiativehttp://www.publiclibraryofscience.org/Open AccessBOAIBudapest Open Access Initiativehttp://www.soros.org/openaccessOpen AccessBioMedCentralBioMed Central supports the goals of PubMedCentral, PLoSand BOAIBioMedCentralAdvantagesImmediate and continuous publicationNone of the spatial constraints of printTrue free access for all Not even compulsory registrationFast, efficient peer reviewVery high visibility200 downloads per article per monthAuthors have access to download figuresAuthors keep copyright and controlBioMedCentralMore AdvantagesPermanenceArchived on PubMed CentralSearchable and retrievable Indexed in PubMed immediately upon publication (applications to Medline outstanding)Published in one journal, but cross-listed in other relevant onesDeposited in CrossRef, indexed by ISI Extensive promotion for outstanding articlesOpportunities to link to and from updates PeerReviewOnline –rapid2 reviewers plus statistician, if necessaryOpen, with signed comments posted For medical journals onlyDecision on whether to publish based on validity (even negative results are published)PublicationSpeedPublish on day of acceptance: initial abstract and PDF version available instantly Final XML and PDF available within 3-20 daysArticle Submissions January 2001 –December 2001http://www.biomedcentral.comBioMedCentralJournalsOver 60 BMC journals in biology and medicine online only editorially managed by BioMed CentralHybrid journals online and printed each has own editor and editorial board e.g. Genome Biology, Critical CareNew group of online journals “start your own journal”Editorial directorate•Dr Harold E VarmusPresident of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center(USA)•Professor Elizabeth H BlackburnProfessor, Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of CaliforniaSan Francisco (USA)•Dr Steven E HymanDirector of the National Institute of Mental Health (USA)•Professor Marc W KirschnerHead of the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School. (USA)•Professor Philippe Kourilsky•Director General, Pasteur Institute (France)•Professor Joseph Boyd MartinDean of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (USA)•Dr David G NathanFaculty Dean for Academic Programs at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (USA)•Dr Paul NurseDirector-General of Cancer Research UK•Sir David WeatherallHonorary Director of the ICRF Laboratories at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford (UK)•Professor Mitsuhiro YanagidaKyoto University and President of the Molecular Biology Society of JapanBMC JournalsBiologyBiochemistryBioinformaticsBiotechnologyCell biologyChemical BiologyDevelopmental BiologyEcologyEvolutionary BiologyGeneticsGenomicsImmunologyMicrobiologyMolecular BiologyNeurosciencePharmacologyPlant biologyStructural Biology MedicineAnesthesiologyBlood DisordersCancer Cardiovascular DisordersClinical PathologyClinical PharmacologyComplementary and Alternative MedicineDermatologyEar, Nose and Throat DisordersEmergency MedicineEndocrine DisordersFamily practiceGastroenterologyGeriatricsHealth Service ResearchInfectious diseasesInternational Health and Human RightsMedical EducationMedical EthicsMedical GeneticsMedical ImagingMedical Informatics and Decision MakingMedical Research Methodology Musculoskeletal DisordersNephrologyNeurologyNuclear MedicineNursingOphthalmologyOncologyOphthalmologyOral HealthPalliative CarePediatricsPregnancy and ChildbirthPsychiatryPublic healthPulmonary Medicine SurgeryUrologyNew Journals Start your ownThis facility empowers scientists to launch new journals in specialist areas (even small niches)All they have to do is:Provide a scope statement Assemble an editorial boardSelect a journal titleProvide lists of potential authorsBioMed Central provides a publishing platform, a web site and technical expertise for the journalsNew JournalsNew Journals ‘buy into’ the ‘input-paid’ publishing modelAnnals of Clinical MicrobiologyAnnals of General Hospital PsychiatryBiomedical Engineering OnlineCancer Cell InternationalCardiovascular DiabetologyCardiovascular UltrasoundCell and ChromosomeClinical and Molecular AllergyComparative HepatologyCurrent Controlled Trials in Cardiovascular MedicineDirected and Applied  EvolutionDynamic MedicineEHealthInternational Environmental Health: A Global Access Science SourceEuropean Journal of Rural Health Blue = already open for businessFiliarialinfections, diseases and their control(FIDAC)Health Technology Assessment and PolicyIJHG –International Journal of Health GeographicsInternational Journal for Equity in HealthJournal of Experimental Ageing ResearchJournal of the Global AIDS PandemicJournal of InflammationKinetoplastid Biology and DiseaseLipids in Health and DiseaseMalaria JournalMicrobial Cell FactoriesMolecular CancerNatural NegativesNutrition JournalProteome ScienceNewModel financeCosts cutPaper, printingDistribution, warehousingMaintaining subscriptionsMarketing, Sales, AdminProtecting content, copyrightCosts leftEnsuring and organising rapid peer reviewElectronic (XML) mark-upQuality ControlWeb site‘Marketing’ to authorsBioMedCentralRevenuesArticle Processing Charges (APCs) of $500 per published paper Automatic waivers for authors from developing countries –and to others on a case-by-case basisInstitutional membershipIncludes automatic APC-waivers for authors from member institutionsAdvertisingArticleCharges perspectiveSome print journals have page charges(andsubscription charges) so that an eight page article in:J Bacteriologycosts the author$530J Neuroscience costs the author$480Mol Biolof Cell costs the author$520PNAScosts the author$320Diabetescosts the author$600Am J  Pathologycosts the author$360ArticleCharges perspective (2)Many journals alsolevy colour charges:The Plant Cell: $500first figure; $500 for second, then $250 eachCell: $1000first figure; then $100 each EMBO J: $504each for first 3; then $336 eachBrain Research: $200each figureJ Neuroscience: $1000each figureMol Biolof Cell: $1000first figure; then $500 eachPNAS: $200each figureThe Plant Journal: £380per pageArticleCharges perspective (3)Some journals also levy processing chargesin addition to subscriptioncharges:The Plant Cell: $300for accepted papersAmerican Journal of Physiology: $50for submitted papersPlant Physiology: $300for accepted papersExperimental Hematology:  $50for submitted papersArticleCharges Who pays?Preferably not authors themselvesAfter all, they don’t pay for subscriptions, eitherBodies that finance research, such as institutions, funding bodies, companiesInstitutional BioMed Central MembershipSponsorshipsInstitutionalMembershipAnnual fee proportional to size of instituteAutomatic waivers of article processing chargesDedicated pages on BioMed Central site on which papers published at the institute are listed and linked to their servers15% discount on paid-for products such as Faculty of 1000 and images.MDBioMedCentralOpen Access: The New ScenarioAuthors take charge: author choicePublishing becomes a serviceto researchers and their communities –not sellingof content No need for copyright transferfrom author to publisherMassively increased exposure for research workIntroduces competition –breaks monopolies journals (publishers) have –enhances market efficiencyMore cost-effective for academiaBioMedCentralHurdles to overcomeNew, unknown modelNo Impact Factors yetArticle Processing ChargesNot (yet) common‘It is the scientists who are going to have to figure out how they want their work to be available’Mary Case –Association of Research Libraries BioMedCentralThank YouBecky FishmanMembership Directorbecky@biomedcentral.comhttp://www.biomedcentral.com

BioMed Central: free, open access to research papers

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