Scholarly journals are the primary vehicle to communicate discovery to the science community and the public. But as the number of journals in print has exploded, the information is getting harder to access due to high subscription costs and copyright restrictions.

A Nov. 15 conference at the University of Washington will focus on how to improve the situation without dismantling the benefits of journal publishing, including editing, peer review and dissemination. The conference will address the evolving relationship between science journals and libraries, public education, research collaboration, university tenure, intellectual property rights, public policy and more.

“Journals & Science: The Past, Present & Future Impacts of Research Journals on Science” is among the first conferences to tackle head-on the challenges facing journals. Topics include:

• The impact of rising journal subscription costs on libraries and research
• Journals and intellectual property rights: Can (or should) federally-funded research be locked away? Is it possible to improve access while still protecting copyright, intellectual property and discovery?
• Open source and open access growth and models
• The impact of journal readability: Comprehension, collaboration, and education
• Other growing means of sharing science information: Blogs, books, research collaboration networks, citizen science networks, and more
• The limits of rapid change: Copyright, IP, time and resources, lack of best practice models, fear of reduced quality
• Journals and the process of making science policy
• Journals and tenure: Current tenure practices, possible impacts, changes being developed, tenure scoring alternatives
• Open discussion: The future of journal publishing

Speakers include Stephen Friend of SAGE bionetworks, one of 13 “Champions of Change” recognized by the White House for his pioneering efforts in open science; Claudia Emerson, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Statistical Center for HIV/AIDS Research & Prevention; and experts from Portland State, Oregon State University and Oregon Health and Science University.

This conference is being organized by the National Science Communication Institute, a Seattle-based nonprofit whose mission is to improve the communication that happens inside science.

- from UO Office of Strategic Communications