The document discusses the history and role of scholarly publishers. It notes that while commercial and society publishers have upheld the tradition of scholarly communication, the internet has led to a transformational shift in scholarly publishing. To stay relevant, publishers must focus on filtering and interpreting information, serving communities, and enhancing researcher productivity by delivering customized content on demand. This will require publishers to develop new skills and take risks to add value in new ways beyond traditional publishing models.

1. What are scholarly publishers good
for?
Lynne Herndon
President and CEO
Cell Press
A short history of the journal
• Are the key drivers of scholarly
communication still intact?
• Let’s take a look back at the origin of
the learned journal, which evolved
from books in the 17th century
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Oldenburg and Boyle
• [We must be] very careful of registring as well the person and
time of any new matter.., as the matter itselfe; whereby the
honor of ye invention will be inviolably preserved to all
posterity. [Oldenburg, 1664]
• all Ingenious men will be thereby incouraged to impart their
knowledge and discoveryes. [Oldenburg, 1664]
• [I should not] neglect the opportunity of having some of my
Memoirs preserv’d, by being incorporated into a Collection,
that is like to be as lasting as usefull. [Boyle, 1665]
• [Phil. Trans. should be] licensed under the charter by the
Council of the Society, being first reviewed by some of the
members of the same. [R.Soc. Order in Council 1/3/1665]
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2. Core publishing values
• Certification = Peer acceptance
• Registration = The minutes of science
• Dissemination = Broadcasting
• Archive = Perpetual record
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Common ground
• Commercial and society publishers
have upheld the tradition of scholarly
communication
• We have developed new products and
services beyond print
• Access and usage have increased
• However, if our mission is to move
scholarly communication forward,
what do we need to do next?
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The change model
• Driven by the Internet, scholarly
publishing is undergoing a
transformational shift from the
aggregate, publish, then distribute
model to a more user-driven, demand
model
• It’s not about what I have to sell you,
it’s about what you want and when
you want it
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3. Tomorrow’s key drivers
• Registration
• Dissemination
• Archive
• Certification
• Filtering and interpretation
• Serving communities
• Enhancing productivity
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Current challenges
• Filter and interpret
– How do we put content into context?
• Serve communities
– How can we help communities develop
and share knowledge in a new way?
• Enhance productivity
– How can we deliver content to enable
users to make an impact?
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Filter and interpret
• As the world of science grows more
complex and collaborative, there is
more need for interpretive content
• Our job is to have a view of all
benchtops, to judge what is important,
to publish it, and to gain trust
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4. Our Anniversary: 1974 - 2004
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Serve communities
• New communities are broader and
more overlapping than traditional,
focused communities
• Beyond traditional publishing, how
can we help communities share
knowledge?
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Cell as a community
• A must-read journal builds a
community through a common
knowledge base and a common
language
• We engage our authors and improve
science in the process
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5. Other examples of community
• Los Alamos’ arXiv
• Signal Transduction Knowledge
Environment
• High Wire Press
• Are these tired examples?
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Enhancing productivity
• We need to move from dissemination
to comprehension and application:
What you want, when you want it
• Do publishers understand enough
about how their users’ workflow and
information needs?
• Will publishers become suppliers to
workflow software companies, or will
they develop software competencies?
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MDL
• “Our mission is to become the leader
in integrated information, information
management and workflow solutions
for the entire R&D value chain.”
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6. Integrated medical records
• PDA delivery of “when you want it”
• Electronic medical records =
– Patient record +
– Dx and Rx protocols +
– Integrated evidence-based medical data
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Tomorrow’s key drivers
• Registration
• Dissemination
• Archive
• Certification
• Filtering and interpretation
• Serving communities
• Enhancing productivity
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The challenge
• Stay competent at traditional values
• Learn to add value in new ways
• Plan to spend, develop new skills,
experiment and take risks
• Scholarly publishers, large and small,
should heed the call
• Are new players new partners?
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