The next century of ESA publications

Field: Social Sciences (Social Sciences)

The science of ecology has undergone many transitions during the 100 years since the Ecological Society of America (ESA) was initiated in 1915. New technologies have played a role in many cases, including the advent of the microcomputer, GPS resources, and other tools that we now take for granted. The way in which we share research results has also changed dramatically. If you haven't ever looked at the first few volumes of Ecology, it's worth perusing them. You'll find most papers have more natural history but no separate sections (eg methods), no theory or statistical analysis, and sometimes no citations. Another, relatively recent, change is the move from print to digital publication of science journals, including ESA's, all of which have electronic versions and two of which (Ecosphere and Ecosystem Health and Sustainability) are available only via the internet. The rapidly changing landscape we are seeing in the world of publishing has had economic impacts on ESA. While individuals have been dropping personal subscriptions to journals in favor of online access through their institutional libraries, many academic libraries have been cancelling journal subscriptions due to ongoing budgetary constraints. Because much of ESA's budget derives from its publications, the decline in subscription income over the past several years has become a point of concern for the Governing Board and Executive Director, who are responsible for overseeing ESA's operations and its financial health. An additional concern is our current reliance on outdated publishing technology, which would need to be upgraded or replaced at considerable cost. Last year, to address these concerns, the Board approved hiring a consulting firm to help us determine how we should proceed with our publications. They spent four months interviewing ESA members and staff; authors and editors; science librarians; and personnel from a select group of similar scientific societies. Their report to the Board in November made it clear that we should explore the path that numerous other societies have taken, including the British Ecological Society, the American Institute of Biological Sciences, and the American Geophysical Union, who have stopped self-publishing their journals in favor of partnering with a large scientific publisher. At that Board meeting we decided to begin a search for a consultant to help us identify an appropriate publishing partner and, in January, we chose one who will work with ESA over the next few months to identify a partner and assist us in negotiating an agreement. A small Publications Transition Committee has been appointed to oversee the search for our new partner and to determine the details of the partnership. Members include representatives of the Governing Board, the Publications Committee, journal editors, and staff. We don't anticipate any substantial changes in the editorial oversight our journals currently enjoy, although much of the production process and journal distribution may be moved to the publishing partner. Paramount in our negotiations with publishers is a determination to maintain and grow the excellent reputation of the ESA journals, both in terms of production quality and scientific content. Partnering with a larger publisher will give us access to modern hardware and software that should facilitate the publication process, provide a better experience for our authors, and potentially increase the speed of publication. At the time this editorial was written we had not yet completed the request for proposals that will go to potential publishing partners, so it's too early to provide a definite time frame for any changes; however, we anticipate that by 2016 our new partnership will be in place. Any major change like this will likely have rough patches along the way, but the Board is heartened by the success that other scientific societies have had since deciding to partner with another publisher. We are confident that we will emerge with a stronger program that not only allows us to expand and enhance our publications but will also provide new and exciting opportunities for ESA to pursue. Scientific publishing – and the field of science in general, not just ecological science – is undergoing rapid changes. We hope ESA members will support the efforts that the Governing Board and ESA staff make to ensure that our Society responds to the variety of challenges we face going forward. We are working hard to make sure that the Society's next 100 years will be as successful as its first century. We hope to see you at the annual meeting in Baltimore in August, to help celebrate our 100th anniversary.