RESEARCH INFORMATION SPECIAL REPORT 2005

leader: The annals of time will remain online

What would happen to STM publishing if the web went down? Judging by this year's special issue, total cataclysm. The pervasive power and presence of the internet is obvious on every page.

The intriguing thing about the contributions this year is how neatly they fit together, reflecting what's happening in the field. Where David Mort pinpoints growth in online journals' backfiles, our journals colleagues provide the specific details of just this activity; where John Sherwell discusses web-based library searching, information solutions companies provide examples of that too.

This past year could even be described as historic: as David Mort points out, sales of online European STM information products outstripped those of hard copy products for the first time in 2004.

Without the web, open-access could barely have been contemplated. Now it's common to see publishers of traditional subscription journals trying out the 'author-pays' model. And, as most don't object to author-self-archiving practices, open-access facilitated by one route or another looks likely to offer its full potential in the end.

We've certainly committed, as a community, to the online world. Don't worry about internet collapse, though. The fact-packed web site www.livinginternet.com describes the internet as 'the most robust network ever built, able to adapt itself almost instantaneously to damage' and as something we can expect to 'continue to exist...for the rest of human history'. So, we can celebrate ongoing and forthcoming achievements in online STM information provision without that particular concern.

Vanessa Spedding

OVERVIEW: STM ONLINE INDUSTRY

Switch to online delivery continues to gather pace

Where traditional STM publishing is starting to feel the pinch, the online sector is burgeoning, outlines David Mort in his annual industry overview.

OVERVIEW: SELF-ARCHIVING

The infrastructure is there: time to populate

The signs are that academics are ready to go for self-archiving. All they require is the knowledge of what's possible, says Vanessa Spedding.

OVERVIEW: LIBRARIES

New tools for libraries bring chapter of innovation

Library management systems are moving on, and will allow libraries to offer increasingly powerful information management and linking facilities, John Sherwell anticipates.

CORPORATE PROFILES

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS | For a single publication or an entire digital library - Scitation provides an online presence second to none

BLACKWELL PUBLISHING | Meeting the needs of scientific publishing

CABI PUBLISHING | From digitising the past to capturing full-text for the future

ELSEVIER | Advancing science and healthcare: a shared goal

EBSCO | Subscription agents continue to ensure electronic publishing efficiency

FIZ KARLSRUHE | FIZ AutoDoc - a web-based full-text broker service

THE INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS: INSPEC | Committed to providing a quality service for scientists

META PRESS | E-content access and management services evolve

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP | Nature Publishing Group is building upon a strong foundation

OVID | eResource management begins with Ovid SearchSolver

OXFORD JOURNALS | Preserving and improving access to our journal archives, current content, and research services

SWETS | With its E-Journals Management Drive, Swets has made great strides in the year 2005

WILEY | Scientific heritage and high-tech science come together on the Web

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