Communication of scientific information: is it time to reassess?

The format of communicating scientific, technical, and medical (STM) information through professional journals has changed relatively little since the publication in 1665 of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, the world’s first journal devoted exclusively to science. Although advances in information technology have dramatically altered the search and discovery of scientific information, other aspects— such as migrating from paper to electronic publishing, moving from a “static” to a “living” document, or exploiting social media tools to disseminate STM information— have been slow in coming. The transformations seen in the popular press to better present and relay complex information have undoubtedly raised readers’ expectations of the scientific-publishing community about how to find and use information. In this Q&A article, 5 experts—a librarian, a publisher, a technology expert, and 2 editors representing traditional and new-concept journals— discuss their views on the communication of scientific information.