The Future of Scholarly Communication

Global thought-leaders define the future of research communication.

Governments and societies globally agree that a vibrant and productive research community underpins a successful knowledge economy but the context, mechanisms and channels of research communication are in flux. As the pace of change quickens there needs to be analysis of new trends and drivers, their implications and a future framework. The editors draw together the informed commentary of internationally-renowned experts from all sectors and backgrounds to define the future of research communication.

A comprehensive introduction by Michael Jubb is followed by two sections examining changing research behaviour and the roles and responsibilities of other key actors including researchers, funders, universities, research institutes, publishers, libraries and users.

Key topics include:

• Changing ways of sharing research in chemistry
• Supporting qualitative research in the humanities and social sciences
• Creative communication in a ‘publish or perish’ culture
• Cybertaxonomy
  
• Coping with the data deluge
  
• Social media and scholarly communications
• The changing role of the publisher in the scholarly communications process
  
• Researchers and scholarly communications
• The changing role of the journal editor
  
• The view of the research funder
  
• Changing institutional research strategies
  
• The role of the research library
  
• The library users' view.
  

This is essential reading for all concerned with the rapidly evolving scholarly communications landscape, including researchers, librarians, publishers, funders, academics and HE institutions.

Readership: Researchers, librarians, publishers, funders, academics and HE institutions.

Introduction: Scholarly communications – disruptions in a complex ecology – Michael Jubb

PART 1: CHANGING RESEARCHER BEHAVIOUR

1. Changing ways of sharing research in chemistry - Henry S. Rzepa
2. Supporting qualitative research in the humanities and social sciences: using the Mass Observation Archive - Fiona Courage and Jane Harvell
3. Researchers and scholarly communications: an evolving interdependency - David C. Prosser
4. Creative communication in a publish or perish’ culture: can postdocs lead the way? - Katie Anders and Liz Elvidge
5. Cybertaxonomy - Vincent S. Smith
6. Coping with the data deluge - John Wood
7. Social media and scholarly communications: the more they change, the more they stay the same? - Ellen Collins
8. The changing role of the publisher in the scholarly communications process - Richard Bennett

PART 2: OTHER PLAYERS: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

9. The changing role of the journal editor - Mike McGrath
10. The view of the research funder - Robert Kiley
11. Changing institutional research strategies - Ian M. Carter
12. The role of the research library - Mark L. Brown
13. The library users’ view - Roger C. Schonfeld

Deborah Shorley was until 2012 Director of Library Services at Imperial College, London. An active member of her profession, Deborah frequently contributes to national and international conferences and in 1998 was awarded the Library Association's Charter Centenary Medal. She has been head of UKRR (UK Research Reserve) since 2007 and was until Chair of MIMAS, a member of JISC Collections Board, on the Board of LIBER (Ligue des Bibliotheques Europeennes de Recherche - Association of European Research Libraries) and a member of the Conseil Scientifique of ABES (Agence Bibliographique de l'Enseignement Superieur). She was elected to the Research Libraries UK Board in 2008. She currently acts as Scholarly Communications Adviser to Imperial.
Michael Jubb is Director of the Research Information Network (RIN). He has a long-standing background as an academic, archivist and senior research manager and has been Deputy Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Council. He has been responsible for over 30 reports on key aspects of the changing scholarly communications landscape.

"This collection expertly outlines the key areas of flux and uncertainty in scholarly communication."

In The Future of Scholarly Communication, editors Shorley and Jubb capture the sense of "ferment" that currently exists on this topic through the voices of contributing disciplinary researchers, publishers, and librarians…The volume is important because it demonstrates that changes taking place now are likely affecting all scholars in every field and will greatly affect academic and research libraries worldwide.

While admitting the complexity of the field and key uncertainties, this work nevertheless explores both current issues in scholarly communication and some likely futures. The growth of open access (OA) and simultaneous difficulty in preserving peer review are just two of the subjects which receive attention here, within the context of the "publish or perish" framework. Shorley (scholarly communications advisor, Imperial College) and Jubb (Research Information Network) deliberately chose contributors from a broad range of specialties and perspectives.

The collection is comprehensive and noteworthy for the clarity and readability of its contributions. The authors come from different backgrounds in science and information science.