The Future of Scholarly Publishing

The formal scientific communication system is
currently undergoing significant change. This is due to four
developments: the digitisation of formal science communication; the
economisation of academic publishing as profit drives many academic
publishers and other providers of information; an increase in the
self-observation of science by means of publication, citation and
utility-based indicators; and the medialisation of science as its
observation by the mass media intensifies. Previously, these
developments have only been dealt with individually in the literature
and by science-policy actors.

The Future of Scholarly Publishing
documents the materials and results of an interdisciplinary working
group commissioned by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and
Humanities (BBAW) to analyse the future of scholarly publishing and to
make recommendations on how to respond to the challenges posed by these
developments.

As per the working group’s intention, the focus was
mainly on the sciences and humanities in Germany. However, in the course
of the work it became clear that the issues discussed by the group are
equally relevant for academic publishing in other countries. As such,
this book will contribute to the transfer of ideas and perspectives, and
allow for mutual learning about the current and future state of
scientific publishing in different settings.