The research
ALPSP felt that it would be timely to discover what they actually thought and what they actually did. This survey aimed to discover the views ofacademics, both as authors and as readers. Some 14,000 scholars were contacted across all disciplines and all parts of the world, and nearly 9% responded; their detailed comments make thought-provoking reading.
Summary of findings
Reassuringly, authors do value not just peer review, but also the various functions by which traditional publication adds value to content. However,most want electronic journals to be free in the future. While they are less clear who should pay for this, the largest group favours payment by the library in some way; perhaps this will trigger further thought and experimentation about business models.
They set a high priority on long-term preservation of and access to journal content. They want to be able to re-use their own work for teaching, and to mount it on websites; but are not overwhelmingly concerned about actual copyright. It is salutary to discover how little they value the various additional features which publishers add to electronic journals, with the notable exception of citation linking.
As readers, their priorities are very similar. Searching and browsing come close as the preferred way of identifying articles to read. Most then print out an article to read it, and store the paper print-out rather than the electronic file. The key benefit of electronic journals is convenience of access - at the desk-top, at any time.
Conclusions
While there is some reassurance here for publishers, and it seems that traditional print and electronic journals are not doomed in the immediate future, there are some clear messages which we should heed if we are to satisfy the needs and wishes of our customers - if we don't, someone else will!
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