Hypermedia Online Publishing: the Transformation of the Scholarly Journal

8.3.1 Overview

Highwire Press is an initiative of Stanford University Libraries/Academic Information Resources. It was selected because it is implementing leading-edge Web-based e-journal technologies and because it is commercially successful (i.e. not just a pilot). Stanford also has a number of interesting projects including the Digital Libraries Initiative, and I was interested in possible synergies. Highwire Press is available on-line at <http://highwire.stanford.edu> .

The stated mission of Highwire [Highwire Press, 1997] is to:

Foster research and instruction by providing a more direct linkage between the writers and readers of scholarly materials.
Use innovative network tools for capture, publishing, retrieval, reading and presentation.
Affect the economics of provision of scholarly information to researchers, especially science, technology and medical (STM) research information.
Ensure that the nascent marketplace for electronic communication among scholars does not develop along the semi-monopolistic lines of current STM publishing.
Build new technological, economic and programmatic partnerships with others investigating related problems.

The main informant at Highwire Press was Vicky Reich, Assistant Director and Digital Librarian at Stanford University's Green Library. The author also attended a workshop presented by Mike Keller, Director of Highwire Press when he was visiting Australia in late 1996.

Last modified: Friday, 06-Feb-2009 07:34:53 MST