The purpose of the monographs and journals task force is to learn more about what scholars and students who use books and journals need and expect from libraries, and to help librarians think about their future role in ensuring access to such resources. Future problems and opportunities should be viewed in light of the changing nature of information technology. Just the opposite is true in the humanities. Moreover, journal publishing in the social sciences and humanities can take years, while, in general, STM journals race new work into print.
Academic institutions are both producers and consumers of scholarly publishing.
Faculty members and students produce work which is reviewed and, if accepted, edited by academic peers, often for a commercial publisher. Libraries must then buy back the published work at escalating prices. The problem is especially serious with scientific journals, which are the most expensive. Social science and humanities journals tend to be less expensive. Commercial publishers have aggressively expanded the publication of journals over the past several years.