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Abstract
In the early to mid-1990s, the Web promised an ocean of possibilities. Nevertheless, it provided relatively little substance for science buffs. The September 2, 1993 issue of John Labovitz's E-Zine-List, for example, lacked a single scientific entry. In those days, readers could find The Scientist by gopher - an early Internet tool that largely slid underground when Web browsers appeared - and that publication hit the Web in 1995. Still, few scientific sites, especially in the form of online magazines, dotted the sea of Web space when HMS Beagle, BioMedNet's biology Webzine, first set sail on February 1, 1997.
| Looking at changes in science publishing on the Web since HMS Beagle's beginning. |
Even in the early days of electronic science publishing, some writers pointed out the power of this new vehicle. In an article called The Network Newsstand in the March-April 1994 issue of American Scientist, Brian Hayes wrote: "The new schemes of electronic publication have an irresistible appeal. Information is delivered in minutes instead of days or weeks. It comes right to your desk, day or night, whether the library is open or not."
Indeed, the online library never closed. Instead, it grew, and fast. For example, the last issue of the E-Zine-List, updated March 8, 2000, includes 63 listings for science (despite neglecting to include HMS Beagle!), as well as 182 listings for health and another 130 for technology.
| Will people pay to read science online? |
At the start, some publishers wondered if the Web created a potential gold mine or a curse for science journals and other science magazines in print. Although the Web generated a powerful appetite for information among users, they thought of the Internet as an early version of television, when everything was free. If you happen to be a librarian, though, the words free and journal lie at opposite ends of your monetary spectrum, because many journal prices seem to compete with NASA to be crowned "king of acceleration."
Despite the outcry against anything on the Web costing even a dime, some science sites charged visitors. In 1984, for example, the American Chemical Society put 20 journals online - all for a price. In some cases, paid access continues and prospers. ScienceNOW, for instance, charges for full access to their daily news service, which went online in October 1996. Clearly, some Web surfers will pay for information. According to Erik Stokstad, editor of ScienceNOW, "In September 2000, ScienceNOW had 193,368 page requests from 183,404 visits." To boot, BioMedNet's recent addition, BioMedNet Reviews, helps users create a custom collection from thousands of articles, which will be available through subscriptions to institutions.
| A "free for all" continues. |
If all goes according to plan at PubMed Central, though, some journal access, at least in the life sciences, will remain free. According to Ed Sequeira, product manager at PubMed Central, "We currently have seven journals in addition to all the Biomed Central titles." BioMed Central publishes a wide variety of electronic journals that bring peer-reviewed articles online quickly, and these journals cover research from all areas of biology and medicine. Soon, Sequeira expects PubMed Central to be carrying more titles, because, he adds, "Another 10 journals have already committed and are in the queue. We've also had expressions of interest from a further two dozen or so." Sequeira expects a strong future for no-cost journal articles online, but he adds that some experimenting will continue, such as looking for what he calls "sustainable business models."
Even so-called free access, however, might not mean that everything is free. Sequeira explains: "No-cost may mean that you still charge for certain added-value information or for getting information ahead of the rest of the world, but the general trend of the last few years toward open access will continue." Highwire Press also supports centralized access to a variety of journals, but when you get to see articles for free, if at all, varies from one publication to another at this site.
| The powers struggle over the Public Library of Science. |
Some scientists, though, disagree on just how journal articles should come online. On one side, an organization called the Public Library of Science advocates a free, central archive for research articles. As of April 3, 2001, 13,035 scientists have signed an open letter in support of this approach. According to this letter, anyone who signs it will "publish in, edit or review for, and personally subscribe to" only those journals that freely supply all of their articles to PubMed Central or something similar within six months of publication.
As might be expected, some publishers balked at such a demand. The center of the battle revolves around the Public Library of Science and Science, where Nobel laureate Richard J. Roberts and his colleagues demanded free articles or else in Building a "GenBank" of the Published Literature. In response, Science agreed to post all of its articles online one year after publication, but only on its own Web site. Presumably, this battle will continue, perhaps for some time.
| Print magazines can prosper online. |
In the meantime, some other scientific publications find value in passing along some free services. Scientific American, for instance, started out on the Internet through America Online in July 1994. Then, in April 1996, Scientific American launched its own Web site. This site now attracts a large audience. According to Martin O. K. Paul, director of electronic publishing at Scientific American, "We currently get about half a million unique visitors every month, 1.2 million total visits per month, and 4.5 million pages views per month." Moreover, giving away information actually benefits a newsstand publication. Paul says, "We have always found posting some of our content online for free has promotional benefits. We have increased awareness, single copy sales, and circulation."
Other print magazines also find value in an online presence. Rosalind Reid, editor of American Scientist, says, "As a magazine without a large subscriber base outside the Sigma Xi membership, we've found that posting free content online is a great benefit. We are able to raise our international profile and perform better our mission of informing a wide audience about what's going on in science and engineering." As part of that mission, American Scientist published Thomas J. Walker's article Free Internet Access to Traditional Journals, in which he wrote: "In a few years, in my view, current issues of all journals will indeed be available on the Web, and so will complete backfiles of all major journals." Reid and her colleagues also plan an even bigger online presence in the future. As Reid explains, "We're working hard on plans to put as much of the magazine online as possible. One way or another, we will be expanding our offerings over the next year."
| Science sites must guard credibility. |
Despite these benefits, online science still faces challenges. For one thing, any false scientific information on the Web compromises the credibility of other sites, simply because visitors start wondering what they can trust. In some instances, sites on the Internet post some pretty outrageous scientific "facts." For instance, a page called 63 Facts You Can't Live Without states: "The insect that flies faster than a jet plane is the deer botfly, traveling at 800 miles per hour." Just for argument's sake, let's imagine that's true: If so, why don't these flies set off sonic booms as they zip through the air? The answer: It's not true, because no insect breaks the sound barrier. In fact, Irving Langmuir debunked that story in 1938! Sequeira points out the credibility problem by saying: "It will be important to have means of separating the wheat from the chaff for those who are not experts in a subject area." Others agree. When asked about future obstacles to online science publishing, Reid said one issue "is the abundance of bad material on the Internet. As time goes on, Internet users will have to become continually more sophisticated in how they determine what is a reliable source of information. Bad science can proliferate quickly on the Web."
Even with the challenges of credibility and struggles for financial success, many more adventures lie ahead for online science. The March 17, 2001, issue of the British Medical Journal printed an article titled Electronic Publishing in Science with the subtitle "the revolution is only just beginning." This article predicts that changes in electronic publishing of science in the next five years will surpass what we saw in the last half decade. In the meantime, HMS Beagle sets her bearing on another hundred issues, and readers and publishers alike can only marvel at what might lie ahead.
Mike May is the contributing Web Resources editor of HMS Beagle.
Cary Barnhard grew up in New Jersey, where his senior class voted him "most unique." He maintains that honor is a polite way of being voted "most likely to need therapy." After a few misadventures in the music industry, he started pretending to be a graphic artist. Eventually it became the truth.
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