SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES

Quality of and access to peer-reviewed literature are increasingly compromised. The quality of scientific manuscripts (not necessarily of the science itself) has been declining in the past decades, along with a general deterioration of writing skills among large sectors of the population. This makes it more onerous and costly for editors and publishers to maintain high standards. The solution to this problem lies with the education system: universities must ensure that their graduates know how to write, and research institutions must implement an effective internal pre-submission review of the mss they produce. Accessibility of the primary literature has been curtailed by inflation of journal prices and budgetary constraints in libraries. Negotiation of subscriptions between national consortia and publishers - thus excluding intermediaries - can restore widespread access to peer-reviewed journals.