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mycologist 20 (2006) 1

available at www.sciencedirect.com

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mycol

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

pressures on editorial teams. We must remember how reliant


we are on this hard pressed group to maintain the quality of
our publications. Few academics now have the time to contribute to what is seen as a non-essential activity by universities, so we must record a debt of gratitude to our editorial
boards. Hopefully, electronic systems will make their editorial
work more straightforward, and also encourage academics to
be willing to join editorial boards.
Secondly, our journals will be redesigned and developed
during the course of our contract with Elsevier. Mycological
Research has already been redesigned, with a new cover and
a new layout style for launch in January 2006. All those who
have been involved in this have remarked how contemporary
and fresh this looks. Both Mycologist and Field Mycology will
now be full colour, and discussions will ensue over the next
year as to how Mycologist will develop. It is great to have the
full support of a publisher in such developments. Elsevier
will also archive the whole back copy of all our journals, which
can then be fully searched electronically, and, of course, our
new contract includes improved financial arrangements.
Lastly, all these developments should feed through to journal
impact factors, driving the impact rating of Mycological Research
upwards. Increasingly, journals live or die by this rating.
Clearly, all this activity has not been accomplished without
the efforts of many. I would like to express gratitude on behalf
of the Society to the following for their hard work, and advice
and input to decision-making processes. Firstly, we have
enjoyed the full support of our President and Council, who,
in the end, have made the final choice. I would particularly
like to thank David Hawksworth for his commitment to the
process and, as editor of Mycological Research, the person who
has to put many of the changes into effect. I would also like
to thank Claire Minto and her team at Elsevier for the efficient
and professional way they have managed the transition, and
we very much look forward to working with them over the
next five years.
Nicholas Clipson, Chair BMS Publications Committee
University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
Tel.: +353 1 716 1365; fax: +353 1 716 1183.
E-mail address: nicholas.clipson@ucd.ie
0269-915X/$ see front matter
2005 The British Mycological Society.
Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mycol.2005.10.001

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