Re: Paleo21 - Publications

["N. MacLeod" <N.MacLeod@xxxxxxxxx>]

I concur with Bill Riedel. Electronic publication will, among other things,
result in dramatic a shift of expenses from the publisher to the user in
terms of printing. If you really want a hard copy of a paper or monograph
you'll need to pay for it. Personally, I don't think this will become a
problem. Indeed, I think most of us do it already when we write papers.
These days I compose all my writing electronically, including all figures,
plates, etc. and only run off a hard copy at the very end (and only because
virtually all journals require that you submit hard copy). Moreover, my
office shelves are full of journals that are full of papers that I'll never
need to actually hold in my hand and read.

Electronic storage of the vast majority of paleontological publications
makes sense so long as the archiving and accessibility issues can be solved
(as I believe they can). My suspicion is that many of us are emotionally
attached to print publications because of the mystique that surrounds
seeing one's name and work printed in a bound volume. On a purely
subjective level a nicely set typescript on coated paper collected and
stitched (or these days glued) together with the work of one's colleagues
makes an impact that a coffee-stained, creased and smudged manuscript
doesn't, even though they contain exactly the same information.
Nevertheless, for a documentation-intense field such as ours this is an
indulgence we can no longer afford. If the paleo. community can get past
the equation of print publishing with intellectual legitimacy -- something
we all know is just not true -- we will be well on our way to being leaders
in the field of electronic publishing.


Norm MacLeod




___________________________________________________________________

Dr. Norman MacLeod
Micropalaeontological Research
N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk (E-mail)

Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum,
Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD

Office Phone: 0171-938-9006
Dept. FAX: 0171-938-9277
E-mail: N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk
___________________________________________________________________