Editorial pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
The Real Costs of Publishing the Journal Norbert J. Pienta* Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2556, United States ABSTRACT: The components of the Journal are discussed in term of costs in money and human resources. KEYWORDS: General Public, Public Understanding/Outreach
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“Why did the price of a print subscription increase so much recently?” Because the Journal underwent recent transitions in both the editor-in-chief and by entering into a copublication agreement with the ACS Journals Division, it seems appropriate to provide some context and historical perspective so everyone might have better insight. The editor transition in fall 2009 was targeted as the time to make substantial changes, particularly to submission, review, and production of content in the Journal, a decision supported by the previous Editor-in-Chief, the current Editor-in-Chief, and the Board of Publication of the Division of Chemical Education. Thus, a committee investigated three scenarios and presented them to the Board: one that represented the status quo, a second that involved “buying” services from third-party vendors, and a third that involved entering into a copublication agreement with ACS Journals. That process and the final decisions took upwards of nine months and considerable effort from several groups of participants. It was certainly well informed. Electronic submission and review was deemed necessary because continuing with the paper alternative was not tractable with the increases in submissions or the inefficiencies of the previous system. Frankly, no one argued that point and except for some new users getting temporarily befuddled by the ACS ParagonPlus environment, authors, reviewers, and editors all agree that the Journal has benefitted. JCE has been accessible via a Web version, as have its archives, for a considerable time; Journal content about the Internet or using it in special ways and special features like JCE Online and JCE Sof tware are part of our rich and cutting-edge tradition. However, even more features are available as the result of the partnership with ACS Journals and their Web-delivery partner Atypon. We consider it a positive sign when users take some things for granted; technology changes constantly and our great content keeps showing up, accessible to our users. JCE joined a production process involving staff and services in Columbus, Ohio that offers XML data management, galley proofs, and ultimately digital color printing. The composition system changed (e.g., the addition of abstracts and keywords in print and online) in spring 2011 without disruption or a significant “retooling” by JCE staff. All of these tools and services cost money and in some cases, substantially more than what was expended before the transitions in 2009.
ournalism and publishing are undergoing a revolution and all facets of it, from content delivery to economic models, are in transition. One might expect that any of the eight editors-inchief of this Journal could have written such an opening statement during their tenures, but the current status of information delivery makes the topic timely again for this Journal. Electronic tools and the Internet make instantaneous distribution an expectation, and academic journals are currently grappling with various aspects of open access. The term “open access” refers to the unrestricted right to use peer-reviewed journal content. It is often differentiated into “green” or “gold” categories: the former allows authors, their institutions, and certain sites such as PubMed Central1 to archive author content at some time after publication; the latter grants immediate distribution rights. Gold open access involves journals designed specifically to publish in this way, typically because publication costs are borne by the authors and their funding agencies. The Journal of Chemical Education and its copublication partner, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Journals Division, are still considering the open-access options. Nevertheless rapid changes in JCE during the past few years warrant some exposition and commentary. Relevant to this discussion is a consideration of what resources it takes to produce an issue of the Journal. Who are the contributors and stakeholders and what are the costs? Several aspects of journal publishing involve voluntary contributions: our authors send us their best ideas and the descriptions of that scholarly work put into practice, reviewers provide commentary about the value or worth of the author’s contributions, and editors decide what gets accepted and how the content is presented. These critical components are not “free”, although no money changes hands during these aspects of publishing. However, the review, production, and dissemination portions of JCE publication involve services and products that are purchased or leased. This Editor-in-Chief, the Associate Editors, the Journal’s fiduciary administration (i.e., the Board of Publication of the Division of Chemical Education), Journal staff, and the administrative staff of the ACS Journals Division all get asked questions related to access, availability, and costs. “As an author, why can’t I put my article anywhere I want, whenever I want?” “If I have a print subscription, I get to keep the copy forever, but why do I have to pay for the electronic access every year?” “It doesn’t cost me anything to keep my desktop going. Why is a Web subscription so expensive?” © 2013 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Published: January 23, 2013 145
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed400027r | J. Chem. Educ. 2013, 90, 145−146
Journal of Chemical Education
Editorial
Starting in 2008, the economy began to wreak havoc on businesses and many of them abandoned or at least curtailed their advertising. In some sectors, such as textbook publishing, the number of competitors dropped precipitously, along with their advertising budgets. Revenue from advertising supported the print version of the Journal. Advertising revenues, coupled with subsidies from institutional subscriptions, were used to maintain an accessible subscription fee for individual subscribers. For example, in 2009, the postage and handling cost alone for an annual individual subscription was ca. $40, compared to the 2009 subscription price of $45. The agreement between the Board of Publication and ACS Journals Division stipulates that both parties will negotiate prices for subscriptions, and they managed to maintain the extremely low price until recently, longer than the agreement required. Everyone is aware of the “sticker shock” that often accompanies such changes. A statement from the Board of Publication appears on the Division of Chemical Education Web site,2 addressing the pricing change. These are difficult decisions and ones that are made after careful consideration and in the context of a much bigger picture. In this case, it has been part of a process that started before the transitions that occurred in 2009.3,4 Given the current circumstances and conditions under which the Journal is produced and published, it is not a free, openaccess journal. Different institutional and individual subscriptions, as well as ACS member benefits, continue to make current issues and all the JCE archives readily accessible. The editors and staff, the Board of Publication, and the Journal’s partners at the ACS Journals Division are all striving to make the Journal available, affordable, and valuable. We hope that you continue to support the Journal.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS.
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REFERENCES
(1) PubMed Central Web page. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ (accessed Jan 2013). (2) Statement about JCE pricing, Division of Chemical Education Web site. http://www.divched.org/winter2012/jcepricing (accessed Jan 2013). (3) Moore, J. W. Does Information Want To Be Free? J. Chem. Educ. 2008, 85 (11), 1467. (4) Moore, J. W. Change: Help To Shape It. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86 (9), 1003.
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed400027r | J. Chem. Educ. 2013, 90, 145−146
