Electronic Publications of the State Academies of Science.

ABSTRACT

Since their beginning, state academies of science have promoted and disseminated local and regional scientific research through the publication of refereed journals and conference proceedings. Increasingly, electronic publication and distribution are becoming important components of scholarly research and publication. To date, only a few state academies of science have incorporated electronic publication and distribution of their journals and proceedings, as most state academies have been slow to make the transition to the new medium.

INTRODUCTION

During 1997 and 1998, we conducted an examination of the publications of the state academies of science (Hill and Madarash-Hill 2000). Since the completion of that study (reprinted in this issue), the publishing landscape has changed significantly. The major nonprofit and for-profit publishers have embraced electronic publication as an increasingly important method of delivering their content.

For-profit publishers have been quick to adopt electronic publication to supplement and protect the revenue that they derive from their print publications. The large professional societies have followed suit. Initially, the emphasis of the major publishers was on creating electronic versions of existing publications. Gradually, publishers have begun creating electronic-only publications. The relative ease of creating and distributing electronic journals has prompted universities, academicians, and smaller societies to create new scholarly electronic journals.…