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Hypermedia Online Publishing: the Transformation of the Scholarly Journal

9.2.5 Other insights

Developments in the field of computer and communications technology can also serve to illuminate some trends. The technologies for printing p-journals are proven over time and well understood. The technologies for performing equivalent activities in an online environment are still being developed. There is a lot of wheel-reinventing going on, and the Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome is alive and well. One likely development is the availability of turnkey scholarly publishing solutions.

An early example is already available. The Forequest Company, based in California, offers a server package called JournalOne?, specifically designed for publishing large publications on the World Wide Web. JournalOne is based on a proprietary networked client/server hardware configuration. The software supports delivery of a journal (or other periodical) via the World Wide Web, automates subscription and payment using completely secure, encrypted transactions. Site licenses to publications are also supported. ForeQuest's Web site is at <http://www.forequest.com/> .

A more generally applicable technology for Web publishing is provided by Groupsoft Publisher (available online at <http://www.groupsoft.co.uk/>). Based on Lotus Notes technology, this provides control over the content, structure and appearance of the Web site. The software has been designed to support timely release of time-bound information, a consistent look and feel for the site, and table of contents and full-text searching to assist with navigation. Groupsoft Publisher allows a small editorial team to manage a large and dynamic Web publication. By separating production into three distinct roles - site structure management, page appearance, and content - the online publication can be managed without specialised resources becoming a bottleneck. Its designers claim that assigning individual roles to people involved in production - journalists, editors, graphic designers - and using the powerful workflow capabilities of Lotus Notes, makes Groupsoft Publisher the first industrial-strength collaborative publishing system for the Web.

The Frontier product from Userland Software (available online at <http://www.scripting.com> /) is also designed to automate the production of large and complex Web sites. It has a newsroom management product which also enables a separation between content creators, content designers and content delivery.

Last modified: Monday, 11-Dec-2017 14:38:27 AEDT