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Editorial comment
This issue of Mycologist, together with the 2006 issues of
Mycological Research and Field Mycology, the other parts of the
BMSs journal stable, are the first to be produced by our new
publisher, Elsevier. I am sure that most readers will be familiar
with Elsevier, but it is important to stress the importance of
this new relationship to the British Mycological Society. Elsevier is the largest and probably the leading publisher of academic journals in the world, producing and managing in
excess of 1800 journals including a mix of both publisher
and society-owned journals. The last 18 months have been
a very busy period for the Societys Publications Committee,
who have undertaken a complex tendering and selection procedure to select the most suitable publisher for the Society.
We approached a final list of seven major publishers to offer
tenders, short listed three of these who were all individually
visited for discussions, and Elsevier was finally selected by
a selection panel. Importantly, for such a significant decision,
the Society engaged the services of a publishing consultant
with extensive experience in academic journal management.
I would like to record our gratitude to Mark Ware, who shepherded us through the process.
Why did we opt for Elsevier? Academic publishing at present is going through rapid development and change. Demand
for paper copy by libraries is reducing as todays researchers
use electronic rather than paper formats to access articles.
The whole issue of open access whereby authors pay for publication and expect their articles to be widely and freely available is developing rapidly, with many US funding agencies
now insisting that papers produced as a result of their finance
are available free. Clearly, the Society has to be responsive to
these pressures, particularly as the profits from our publishing
contribute so much to Society activities. The overall feeling of
the selection committee was that we should partner a very
major publisher who would be most responsive to these pressures, and who would have the muscle to maintain the profitability of our titles. Certainly, the profile and strength of
Elseviers electronic platform Science Direct was a major factor in our choice.
From the last paragraph, I perhaps paint quite a bleak picture of what may happen to academic publication (and its associated financial implications). Nevertheless, there are many
positive aspects of our new relationship with Elsevier. Firstly,
Mycological Research and Mycologist will be managed by Elseviers electronic submission and management system. This
will streamline much of the editorial and production process,
improving quality and efficiency. Importantly, it will reduce