Societies v.1

This statement has been superceded by https://peeer.net/societies/ (Oct’24)

On this page:
Scientific Societies in Context: a thimble-size history of scientific publishing
Scientific Societies’ Joint Statement on Scientific Publishing: a statement

Scientific Societies in Context

The current purpose of scientific publishing was established by the first science-focused journal, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (established in 1665). The goal of the Philosophical Transactions was to enforce transparency in the provenance and ownership of scientific ideas, and to provide a venue in which those ideas could be debated in an orderly way. The model was adopted by a modest number of society-run journals in the subsequent ~300 years, and these new scientific publications usually made no substantial profit; sometimes they were produced at a loss, subsidized by societies’ modest membership revenues.

As technological successes during WWII stoked subsequent scientific growth, privately held for-profit publishing companies entered academic publishing and, over the subsequent ~3/4ths century, began to launch their own, new, publisher-owned journals that were unaffiliated with scientific societies. This practice accelerated quickly and drove a fundamental shift in scientific publishing. By the mid-1990s, commercial publishers produced 40% of journals, professional/scientific societies 25%, and academic presses only 16%. During the early 2000’s, publication models expanded further, ranging from ‘predatory’ journals at one end of the spectrum through to new journals run entirely by academics on open-source software. There is now a bewildering array of options from which to choose, and we believe that societies can again play a formative role in bringing order and principles to enforce transparency in the provenance and ownership of scientific ideas and to make publishing more accessible, affordable, and inclusive.

In collaboration with scientific societies, we developed a Joint Statement on Scientific Publishing which continues to evolve as a work-in-progress, acknowledging the following principles for fostering an accessible and equitable publishing environment.

Scientific Societies’ Joint Statement on Scientific Publishing

Scientific publishing has undergone many changes in its ~350 year history. As scientific societies and their members have contributed as authors, reviewers, and editors of publications throughout this time period, we have vested interest in scientific publishing. Our goals as scientific societies are to:

promote high-quality peer-reviewed scientific publications
broaden participation in scientific research by increasing access to scientific publications
encourage membership in scientific societies

Our intent is to meet these goals through society activities and society journals. It is with concern, then, that we observe the forces at work in modern for-profit scientific publishing houses that run contrary to the values of our societies and communities. Particularly, we are concerned about:

publishing practices that exploit academic researchers, especially those from vulnerable groups who have limited resources and/or are under heightened pressure to publish or perish
the expectation that professional scientists should contribute free labor as editors and reviewers to massively profitable corporations
article processing fees that far exceed the costs of production and have increased well above inflationary rates
Institutional subscriptions that now constitute the majority of acquisition budgets at university libraries

We have therefore chosen to issue this joint statement to reify our shared positions and to raise awareness among our members of actions that professional societies can take to work towards a more equitable publishing ecosystem. Specifically we aspire to:

produce society journals by collaborating with publishers who share our values
support access to society-published research via globally affordable Open Access licensing
make society memberships available on sliding scales to lower barriers to participation
work with institutional libraries to effect change in the publishing ecosystem
ensure society members are aware of choices they can make to support a more accessible, affordable, and equitable publishing environment.

As individual scientists, we can take the following actions to work towards a more equitable publishing ecosystem:

be intentional regarding your participation in the publishing ecosystem
contribute your expertise as a reviewer or editor to journals that are affiliated with scientific societies
choose to publish your work in society journals
mentor young scientists to increase awareness about issues related to scientific publishing

We intend to continue the important work we have been doing in these areas, and also are increasingly considering new actions and broader coalitions that may be necessary to maintain the integrity of scientific publishing for our members for the future.

This statement has been endorsed by:

– American Society of Naturalists
– Associação Brasileira de Ciência Ecológica e Conservação – ABECO
– Herpetological Association of Africa
– International Biogeography Society
– Society of Island Biology
– Spanish Terrestrial Ecological Society (AEET)

Versions of this statement are also endorsed by:

– Herpetological Association of Africa
– Italian Society of Biogeography