Will open access close the door on ecological publishing?September 06, 2004The British Ecological Society could cease to exist within three years if income from its four journals stopped suddenly. Speaking in a major debate on open access scientific publishing at this year's British Ecological Society Annual Meeting, being held at Lancaster University on 7-9 September 2004, Dr Jill Lancaster of the University of Edinburgh will say: "Three-quarters of the BES's income comes from journals. If open access publishing means that this income drops, the society's activities must be radically reduced or we must find new ways of raising funds." In its evidence to the Science and Technology Committee's inquiry into scientific publishing, the BES said that open access is a welcome restraint on some journal publishers who set excessive prices for their journals. But the BES warned that in scientific disciplines such as ecology, open access could have serious consequences for both scientists and learned societies. As well as slashing income from journal subscriptions, open access would also cut membership income as many ecologists join the BES because reduced-price journal subscriptions are a major benefit of membership. The BES also warned that many valuable ecological studies are done by volunteers and other unfunded researchers, who would be unable to publish their work in an author-pays system.
Also taking part in the BES debate will be Dr Ken Norris of the University of Reading and editor of the Journal of Animal Ecology, Bob Campbell of Blackwell Publishing, and Catriona MacCullum of the Public Library of Science. Before and after the debate, ecologists in the audience will be asked to vote for or against the motion: Do you think open access will be a positive influence on ecological research? British Ecological Society (BES) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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