Astute paleontologists are likely aware by now of major changes ahead for the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology's Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, announced in July and detailed in this blog post. The journal has grown at a tremendous rate, and something needed to be done in order to ensure continued high quality, timely publication, and financial viability into the foreseeable future. After extensive research, the decision was made to partner with commercial publisher Taylor & Francis.
Of course, many questions remained for those of us who follow issues of academic publishing and access to publications. What would happen to copyright of articles? Who gets the profits from sales of the journal? Would authors still be able to post a PDF on their website? So, I drafted an email and sent it along to the relevant folks in SVP's leadership.
I am now happy to say that an extensive list of FAQs, responding to questions from me and other folks, is now posted at SVP's website [link to PDF]. Every single one of my questions (and others) was addressed, in detail. My sincere thanks goes to the individuals at SVP who put this together! Major points (and some commentary) follow:
Copyright
Copyright will stay with the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (as appropriate - publications produced by many government workers should be exempted), as has been the case in the past. This is a Good Thing.
Is This Forever?
The contract lasts five years - so, SVP has the option to find another publisher or renegotiate at the end of this period. Again, a Good Thing. This also means, however, that those society members with an interest in commenting on or influencing the renewal process have about three (or at most four) years to wait before springing to action. Mark your calendars for SVP 2012 and 2013. Given the rapid pace at which academic publishing is changing right now, it will certainly be worth taking a close look at the conditions of journal publication in a few years.
Author Benefits
In the new publishing arrangement, authors will benefit from faster publication (by going from four issues a year to six). This is, of course, a major plus. Other benefits are, in my opinion, slightly more mixed. Gone are the days when we can (legally) pay an affordable fee for the right to post the PDF of our published work to a personal web page. We will, however, receive a PDF that can be emailed to colleagues and those who request it. This unfortunately represents a step backwards for the (legal) distribution of paleontological information. As a consolation prize, though, we get 50 free paper reprints of our articles! [editorial note: I had a rant written on this topic, but decided against including it here in the end. Suffice it to say that I personally find paper reprints less than useful in this day and age, recognizing that others may not share this opinion]
Open Access
It is probably no surprise that JVP will not be going to an open access model, even a delayed open access model. On a small positive note, authors now have the option of purchasing complete open access for their article (presently, to the tune of $3,250) through Taylor & Francis's iOpenAccess program.
Final Thoughts
It's still far too early to know for sure how JVP's transition to Taylor & Francis will work out. As mentioned above, the world of academic publishing is changing. Only time will tell if the switch is a Totally Good Thing or not.
Showing posts with label Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Show all posts
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
JVP's Big Switch - A Good Thing or Not?
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, as many readers of this blog know, is the flagship publication of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Like the journals of many other small societies, JVP is a high-quality, largely volunteer effort. With the growth of SVP, the journal has grown too - from 422 published pages during its first year (1981) to 1,245 pages during 2008. This sort of expansion is not without its problems - how do you fit the increasing number of scientifically worthy submissions within the fixed-page format of a relatively expensive publication medium? Massive backlogs are bound to happen (and have, apparently). One option is to drastically increase the rejection rate of previously worthy papers - not necessarily a healthy option for the journal or the society as a whole (particularly for students and others not in the inner circles). Another tactic is to increase the number of pages per year, or the number of issues. For a society-funded journal, this is a very expensive proposition.
So, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology has taken a compromise position - partnering with commercial publishing house Taylor & Francis Group. At the face of it, this seems to be a win-win situation. . .the number of issues will be bumped up to six issues per year, which will decrease the journal's backlog and allow more high-quality papers to be published. The society retains editorial control, gets a bunch of free color pages every year (no small chunk of cash saved here!), and will get a memoir issue every year too (also a major bonus - these things are very, very expensive to produce). Taylor & Francis also has an open access option for many of their journals (although it is unknown yet if JVP will have this available), which may be a step forward from the previously no-open-access-option of JVP.
This all seems like a Good Thing. So, why am I hesitant to completely cheer on the switch? My caution lies entirely with all of the uncertainties behind a switch to a big commercial publisher. The T&F Group seems to have much more restrictive policies on PDF distribution, for instance. . .in my quick look through their present journals, I didn't see any evidence for any journal that authors are allowed to purchase a PDF for a reasonable price that would legally allow posting of a copy on a personal or institutional website (as JVP presently does--something I really like about the journal). At best, authors get the concession of a free PDF for emailing purposes only. . .and only for up to 50 colleagues. There are days when I like to think more than 50 people might be interested in my research, but perhaps this is a fantasy. My hope is that something better has been negotiated for the society, but it is presently too early to tell. Furthermore, non-members of the society at non-subscribing institutions can look forward to paying $37/article (regardless of page count!) for PDF access. This is a step ahead of the previous situation (no easy way to get a PDF short of writing the author, assuming their contact information is still valid and the author is still alive), but a debatable improvement nonetheless.
Other questions abound. What will happen to copyright (previously assigned to the society)? T&F is no Elsevier (thank goodness!), but what are the options for the society if the publisher engages in unethical publishing practices or overpriced bundling schemes?
All we have to go on right now is the press release. I am sure that many more details will be unveiled in the months leading up to the formal handover to Taylor & Francis. Some of my fears will be unfounded (I hope), and other unforeseen issues may rear their heads. At the very least, I will be keeping a close eye on further developments. If you publish in JVP or are thinking about doing so, and care about authors' rights, I encourage you to remain vigilant too.
So, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology has taken a compromise position - partnering with commercial publishing house Taylor & Francis Group. At the face of it, this seems to be a win-win situation. . .the number of issues will be bumped up to six issues per year, which will decrease the journal's backlog and allow more high-quality papers to be published. The society retains editorial control, gets a bunch of free color pages every year (no small chunk of cash saved here!), and will get a memoir issue every year too (also a major bonus - these things are very, very expensive to produce). Taylor & Francis also has an open access option for many of their journals (although it is unknown yet if JVP will have this available), which may be a step forward from the previously no-open-access-option of JVP.
This all seems like a Good Thing. So, why am I hesitant to completely cheer on the switch? My caution lies entirely with all of the uncertainties behind a switch to a big commercial publisher. The T&F Group seems to have much more restrictive policies on PDF distribution, for instance. . .in my quick look through their present journals, I didn't see any evidence for any journal that authors are allowed to purchase a PDF for a reasonable price that would legally allow posting of a copy on a personal or institutional website (as JVP presently does--something I really like about the journal). At best, authors get the concession of a free PDF for emailing purposes only. . .and only for up to 50 colleagues. There are days when I like to think more than 50 people might be interested in my research, but perhaps this is a fantasy. My hope is that something better has been negotiated for the society, but it is presently too early to tell. Furthermore, non-members of the society at non-subscribing institutions can look forward to paying $37/article (regardless of page count!) for PDF access. This is a step ahead of the previous situation (no easy way to get a PDF short of writing the author, assuming their contact information is still valid and the author is still alive), but a debatable improvement nonetheless.
Other questions abound. What will happen to copyright (previously assigned to the society)? T&F is no Elsevier (thank goodness!), but what are the options for the society if the publisher engages in unethical publishing practices or overpriced bundling schemes?
All we have to go on right now is the press release. I am sure that many more details will be unveiled in the months leading up to the formal handover to Taylor & Francis. Some of my fears will be unfounded (I hope), and other unforeseen issues may rear their heads. At the very least, I will be keeping a close eye on further developments. If you publish in JVP or are thinking about doing so, and care about authors' rights, I encourage you to remain vigilant too.
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