There was some discussion of open review systems but they were not felt to be appropriate in all disciplines. Authors should be made more aware of the ways in which electronic publishing can provide opportunities for the enhancement of the content of their articles and indeed make forms of communication possible which were impossible in print. Publishers need to pay attention to the development of procedures for the refereeing of such components which will gain respect. Governments should invest more in the wider dissemination of scientific research via electronic publishing, for example by providing additional funding for libraries, and their technological infrastructure specifically for the purpose of making it possible to optimise access and usage. The group felt that it was inevitable that different pricing models will operate during this period of transition and probably continue to do so in view of the complexity of any scenario which we could envisage.
Publishers are encourage to explore different models.
The page charge model as proposed at the Paris conference may be appropriate for some disciplines where government funding is specifically applied to most scientific research. If links are to provide other than paths to a dead end, such a change of policy by the content providers is clearly necessary. Archives will be expensive to maintain. For this reason governmental funding will be required and access may not be free. The publishing function will continue even if different entities undertake it in the future.