Online publishing alternative to scholarly journals
May 30, 2005. The Wall Street Journal reported on May 23 that experiments in "open access" publishing are attempting to reduce the cost of access to research and to speed publication. Traditional scholarly publishing is dominated by scientific and professional societies and commercial publishers, and includes rigorous peer review. Administering this system, editing, printing, and distribution are costly, and subscriptions are expensive. University professors and researchers have responded with open access publishing efforts, where distribution is online and funding comes from sponsoring organizations, grants, and fees paid by authors. Examples include the Public Library of Science (http://www.publiclibraryofscience.org/) and Cornell University's arXiv (pronounced "archive.")