Economic implications of alternative scholarly publishing models : exploring the costs and benefits. JISC EI-ASPM Project. A report to the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)

Abstract

A knowledge economy has been defined as: “…one in which the generation and exploitation of\nknowledge has come to play the predominant part in the creation of wealth. It is not simply\nabout pushing back the frontiers of knowledge; it is also about the more effective use and\nexploitation of all types of knowledge in all manner of economic activities” (DTI 1998). In a\nknowledge economy, innovation and the capacity of the system to create and disseminate the\nlatest scientific and technical information are important determinants of prosperity (David and\nForay 1995; OECD 1997).\nScholarly publishing plays a key role, as it is central to the efficiency of research and to the\ndissemination of research findings and diffusion of scientific and technical knowledge. But,\nadvances in information and communication technologies are disrupting traditional models of\nscholarly publishing, radically changing our capacity to reproduce, distribute, control, and\npublish information. The key question is whether there are new opportunities and new models\nfor scholarly publishing that would better serve researchers and better communicate and\ndisseminate research findings (OECD 2005, p14).