Just get rid of the journal!

Unconference style

Abstract

We can all name a few problems around the current scholarly publishing system. One could talk about the steep rising costs of subscriptions and author processing charges, or impact factors dominating where to publish and pushing small journals out of the market. Or maybe we could discuss the retention of publishing rights from authors and/or universities by the big publishers.   

However, to solve the problems mentioned maybe we shouldn’t talk about these right now, but more so about taking away the format causing these, namely the journal? Aren’t we just better off shaping open scholarly- or university owned platforms as online libraries? And get rid of the print-based workflows used before the coming of the internet age?

In this unconference style workshop we’ll discuss how an academic world without journals would look like, what would go forward and are there features of the journal we can’t do without? Then together we’ll design the ideal alternative. We can take a look at publishing formats, peer review, editorial workflow, or what else you would like to see included. What do you think researchers need to publish, disseminate and find the publications they need? Let’s share our expertise, exchange our wildest ideas and discuss future developments!