Together with Berkeley Electronic Press, Ohio University Eminent Research Professor Alfred Eckes recently unveiled the Global Economy Journal to a medium with the largest number of subscribers in the world -the Internet.
After being appointed as executive vice president of the OU International Trade and Finance Association in May of last year, Eckes wanted to find a more efficient way to make journals available to scholars around the world.
The problem all scholars have is that it takes a year or so to get things published ... It's an intolerable burden
Eckes said.
Eckes contacted Kent Mulliner, recently retired associate dean for OU Collection Development, and Dave Sanders, director of OU Press, to brainstorm available alternatives to the sluggish print journal medium.
They found a solution at the Berkeley Electronic Press, established in 1999 by three professors at the University of California at Berkeley.
What makes BEP significant is its cost effectiveness compared to other publishers. It is trying to pose an alternative to standard commercial journals Mulliner said.
With costs to stock and provide journals in libraries -increasing substantially, scholars are encouraged to move their work away from printed scholarly publications. One of the virtues of going with BEP is that it is available to every academic institution in the state of Ohio through OhioLink Mulliner said. OhioLink posts various electronic journals with some full-text articles and abstracts.
Eckes said he was impressed by Berkeley because they review their articles within three months. The press is exceptionally time-sensitive, allowing for quick review and publication, he said.
The Global Economy Journal (www.bepress.com/gej/) is readily available to scholars and students throughout the world. Some days we have more than 1
000 articles downloaded
Eckes said, which is a greater response than through print. The high cost structures and layers of editors that accompany print journals cannot be as competitive as electronic journals, he said.
The worldwide availability of the Global Economy Journal makes it unique among electronic publications. Though there are many economic journals all over the world, most do not cover international economics, Eckes said.
A typical journal may receive foreign (article) submissions
but not to the degree we are ... It reflects the (IT&FA's) membership
he said.
Since 2000, the popularity of electronic journals has escalated. The ubiquity of access is a very strong reason for going electronic
said Wanda Weinberg, head of Reference and Instruction at
Alden Library.
You've got to have (information) in a form that is easy to get at
Mulliner said.
Eckes, who spent time as an editor for The Columbus Dispatch, is thrilled to make the transition into electronic publishing and edit the Global Economy Journal. I'm really elated at the progress we've made
he said. I can see barriers falling in the publishing world.
