RE: paleonet For-profit journals and electronic publishing

["Mike Everhart" <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

All,

Not sure that this will add value to the thread, but here goes:

The Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science publishes
peer-reviewed papers from a variety of scientific disiplines, including
paleontology. The journal is much older than most being published today,
going back to 1872. It has published papers by Williston, the
Sternbergs, Roy Moodie, etc., including the naming of several Cretaceous
type specimens (Styxosaurus snowii, Desmatochelys lowi, etc) 
http://www.oceansofkansas.com/KAS-pubs.html

The pace of publication of paleontology papers in the KAST has picked up
over the last four years, and although the Transactions is mostly
focused on science in  Kansas and the Midwest, one of the three
paleo-papers published in the current issue (108:1/2) is on a specimen
of an upper Jurassic lacewing (insect) from Kazakhstan. The other two
papers, surprisingly, are about Kansas dinosaurs. 

The last 4.5 volumes of the Transactions (2001-2005) are currently
available on BioOne and the rest will soon be available on JSTOR back to
Volume 1 (1872). 

Page costs to authors are reasonable and usually just enough to pay the
cost the issue as published by Allen Press, so the publication is more
or less self-sustaining (Definitely non-profit). Color plates are
available in the printed version at an extra cost, and color figures
that are printed in black and white are included in full color in the
digital versions at no extra cost. One criteria, however, is that at
least one of the authors be a member of the KAS. More information,
including abstracts since 1992, is available here:
http://www.emporia.edu/kas/transact.htm

While the KAS Transactions is certainly not in the same class as the
JVP, JP, etc. we are getting better all the time, and our publications
are available all over the world through BioOne (and soon, JSTOR). It's
a good place to start.

Regards,

Mike Everhart (Assistant Editor, KAST)
Adjunct Curator of Paleontology
Sternberg Museum of Natural History
Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS
www.oceansofkansas.com