So, as forum leader this week, I have been neck deep in the Elesevier case. While this alone is not the reason for my recent tossing and turning at night (a change in class work pace, for example :), I am still reeling over the discovery of at least 6 fake journals by this once reputable publisher.
I feel so naive, so taken. How did I not see this was possible, inevitable and may undoubtedly happen over and over again? My sense of justice is on red alert and my coping skills are kicking in. I'm carb loading and freaking out over the future of our profession. Okay, it isn't that bad, but, man, it's bad, it's real bad. They took money and took information professionals for a ride. The scope of the effect of this case is limited in some ways in that the journals were mostly bought by academic libraries. But, they were MEDICAL journals! If we can't rely on these resources in academic settings, where our medical professionals are being trained, to take care of our bodies, what can we rely on? (And why hadn't my medical conspiracy theories ever trickled down to online journals before?!;)
The broader questions about the abilities of professional librarians to reliably evaluate our sources reinforced what I have yet to learn (is that possible?) in Collection and Development. We need our professional reviewers, although even they were duped by the level of fakery involved here.
At the end of our forum discussion, a classmate provided an awesome link to a blog written by a few dozen professional science writers. I loved reading through the comments and seeing how thrown these people are, too. I like to be confirmed in my dizziness, it makes the room spin a little less. I also liked the solutions put forth: stop reviewing for Elseveir, boycott publishing there, note in all publications the questionable value of its material, move toward open source online journals, and on and on. I don't know what is most effective, I just like the variation on a theme. We're going to have to be a savvy bunch of librarians and scientists to fight this. Or at least to keep the scale minimized.
Something even bigger has been happening to me, and it has everything to do with Eleseveir and intellectual freedom. I feel so much more confirmed in the importance of good, trained and dedicated librarians. Information is exploding all around us. I hesitated to start SLIS, I mean, who's hiring public librarians and why would the public need me to do this for them? Good lord, friends, the answer lies therein. The very nature of the information society means our work is meaningful.
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I should add credit for that blog find. It was from Sue Reber- Thanks Sue!
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing about this...I did not know about it nor did my co-workers at the college. The nursing/science liason said that this is actually an issue with "legit" journals too because so much funding is supplied by the pharmacuedicals. She did say that this took it to a whole new level.
ReplyDeleteNever question whether dedicated librarians are necessary. They are, and will be.
ReplyDeleteYou might be right, though, to question whether or not the public who needs us so desperately will be willing to pay for us. We have not done a very good job of explaining why and how we are essential. Gone are the days, though, when we can turn up our collective noses at marketing ourselves and our services.