Vetenskaplig publicering i gungning

Sammanfattning: Scholarly publishing has since the introduction of electronically distributed periodicals seen a time of change, mainly in the STM-business (Science Technology and Medicine). The roles of the three main participants in the publication process; researcher, publisher and library are developing into new directions. Researchers themselves are taking a more active part in the discussion, with the boycott list from the Public Library of Science organization as an illustrating example. Reforms are being launched partly as an economical and efficiency issue, partly as an increasing desire from researchers to maintain the control of scientific end result. This Master s thesis examines how the partly conflicting goals of the participants affect the conditions for scholarly publication in an electronic environment. The study has an international point of view, with USA and the countries of the European Union and Sweden in focus of interest. A study of how the situation of today has developed, based on literature studies, is carried out. Technical, economic, political and sociological factors influence the publishing market and communication situation of scholars. As a complement to the literature studies, interviews were conducted with representatives from the interest groups researchers, publishing business and research libraries. The results indicate that although a great deal of initiatives to reform scholarly publication has seen the daylight in recent years, the situation cannot be described as rebellious. Scientific communication is a slowly evolving system, which depends on an established set of communicative and quality control systems. To successfully introduce changes within this system, even if they technologically are possible to establish, depends in a high degree on the engagement and awareness of the situation from researchers, publishers and libraries.