Subject: electronic publishing

From: "Rainer Stumpe 100012,1163" <[email-masked]>
Date: 31 Jan 94 15:18:26 EST

To:   >internet:[email-masked]
From [email-masked] Rainer Stumpe
Subj: Re: Color Plates in Electronic Journals

Dear Fellow Netters,
George Seibel wrote:
> I believe that there are no *technical* barriers to fully
> electronic scientific journals today. The barriers are
> largely political. If the text and graphics are compressed
> with the best currently available (not to mention free)
> software, then conventional networking, storage, and display
> hardware is adequate for the task. Much of it is already in
> place.

I imagine a technology, where I can sit at my desktop, log to
the library and start browsing the journals on display (the
library would have thousands of journals available). That
library would also store my interest profile and make me aware
of publications and articles of my interest. Hypertext links
would allow me to access previous volumes at the click with my
mouse, if I wanted to. The journals I would browse had true-
color images, would provide video sequences when time dependent
phenomena need to be visualized, and audio signals where
appropriate. THAT TECHNOLOGY IS THERE, TOO. I do not think I
would browse and read a journal if I had to retrieve,
decompress and files to reassemble an article; I would rather
resort to the print version.

While the technology is there - as there are freeware programs
mentioned by Dr. Seibel - I wonder how widespread it is. Maybe
I can use it later this year in a pilot project Springer-Verlag
is setting up. But can you?

What would happen, if I switched all my journals to that new
technology? Wouldn't they just disappear from lack of
submission (the ambitious e-journal Current Clinical Trials
apparently is suffering from technologically negligent
authors). Am I correctly assuming, scientists publish to be
read and cited? Or do they publish to support advanced
technology?

Well, we at Springer-Verlag are participating in
technologically highly advanced projects. When and as soon as
authors and readers are ready to use an electronic library, you
will see our products - everywhere in the world. And nobody
will miss the printed issue.

For the time being, I would publish an e-journal plus the
synopsis in print. Thus, those with access to the technology
would have the full benefit of advanced information technology,
while authors and less fortunate readers would not miss an
important publication or citation. Does anyone have a
suggestion for such a journal? Multimedia should not be a
playful addition, but must add to the information value.

Sincerely yours
Dr. Rainer Stumpe
Sciences Editorial
Springer-Verlag
Tiergartenstr. 17
D-69121 Heidelberg

Phone: +49-(0)6221-487 310
Fax:   +49-(0)6221-487 366
Internet: [email-masked]