Technology Lecture Developments in scientific information systems

Abstract
Publication of scientific papers has grown in size and range since the middle of the 17th century. The system is now large, costly and slow, and a report published by the Royal Society and the British Library in 1981 concluded that a combination of pressures would put it under considerable strain. 'Electronic journals' as substitutes for print on paper have attracted attention over the past decade but, although a number of systems have been developed for communication, no completely electronic primary publication yet exists. The application of technology can improve aspects of the system, but it is first necessary to consider the needs of users and the objectives, nature and limitations of present publishing. Technology has already been applied extensively to secondary publications such as abstracts and the lecture therefore concentrates on application to full length papers. Computerized typesetting and camera-ready copy are already being used at the input stage of the system, but direct capture into a computer store has now been made possible by the use of word processors and facsimile equipment and is likely to be used increasingly whatever the nature of the later stages of publication. A range of electronic storage media is available and can be used in a variety of ways. Optical digital discs are attractive for storage of large numbers of papers since they offer large capacity, low cost, rapid access and longer storage life than magnetic media. Even so, error-free life may only be of the order of ten years, unlike print on paper, and re-recording at intervals will be necessary; system design must allow for this. Electronic displays for reading primary publications cannot completely replace paper until they have the advantages of the printed journal, which can be read in widely differing surroundings. Electronic storage offers, however, the possibility of printing on demand, rather than in bulk, by the use of equipment similar to a plain paper copier but with information from the store written on the drum by a laser. This in turn makes possible electronic transmission and local printing instead of central printing and transmission by mail; either is technically possible and the choice between them is likely to be made on relative costs. In considering storage, printing and transmission it has to be remembered that the information content of a photographic illustration is much higher than that of the equivalent area of a line diagram or text and the needs of the engineer or physical scientist may therefore be easier to meet than those of the biologist. A possible system could use electronic information capture, storage and transmission, and print out of chosen papers on demand. The potential reader would then have to be able to choose the papers to read. One possibility is by matching a paper against his stated profile of interest; a better one may be journals of one or two page synopses of papers, although thus far synopsis journals have not been popular. Economics rather than availability of technology may govern choice in a number of parts of the system. There will be effects on libraries and publishers, and scholarship could be affected. Some problems of copy-right may be resolved, but others will be raised. Standards and use of equipment from other fields, such as office automation, will have to be considered. There are potential risks as well as benefits from the introduction of technology into scholarly publishing and some actions are necessary if the benefits are to outweigh the dangers.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: