A History of Scientific Journals : publishing at the Royal Society, 1665-2015 / Aileen Fyfe, [and three others].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fyfe, Aileen, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Periodicals.

Science.

Science publishing--History.

Science publishing.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 643 pages) : illustrations some color

Other Title:

History of Scientific Journals

Place of Publication:

London, United Kingdom : UCL Press, 2022.

Summary:

Modern scientific research has changed so much since Isaac Newton's day: it is more professional, collaborative and international, with more complicated equipment and a more diverse community of researchers. Yet the use of scientific journals to report, share and store results is a thread that runs through the history of science from Newton's day to ours. Scientific journals are now central to academic research and careers. Their editorial and peer-review processes act as a check on new claims and findings, and researchers build their careers on the list of journal articles they have published. The journal that reported Newton's optical experiments still exists. First published in 1665, and now fully digital, the Philosophical Transactions has carried papers by Charles Darwin, Dorothy Hodgkin and Stephen Hawking. It is now one of eleven journals published by the Royal Society of London. Unrivalled insights from the Royal Society's comprehensive archives have enabled the authors to investigate more than 350 years of scientific journal publishing. The editorial management, business practices and financial difficulties of the Philosophical Transactions and its sibling Proceedings reveal the meaning and purpose of journals in a changing scientific community. At a time when we are surrounded by calls to reform the academic publishing system, it has never been more urgent that we understand its history.

Contents:

Origin myths

The first Philosophical Transactions, 1665-1677

Repeated reinventions, 1677-1696

Stabilising the Transactions, 1696-1752

The Transactions and the wider world, c.1700-1750

For the use and benefit of the Society, 1750-1770

Sociability and gatekeeping, 1770-1800

Circulating knowledge, c.1780-1820

Reforms, referees and the Proceedings, 1820-1850

Editing the Journals, 1850s-1870s

Scientific publishing as patronage, c.1860-1890

The rise of the Proceedings, 1890-1920s

Keeping the publications afloat, 1895-1930

Why do we publish? 1932-1950

Selling the journals in the 1950s and 1960s

Survival in a shrinking, competitive market, c.1970-1990

Money and mission in the digital age, 1990-2015

Reflections : learning from 350 years.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.