The Future of Scholarly Publication and Communication

Martin Groetschel Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum and Technische Universitaet Berlin, Germany

Abstract:

The area of scholarly publication, information, and communication is in the early stages of a possibly far-reaching transformation made possible by a revolution in computing and communications technology. Predictions are difficult, as the 1977 statement: "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." of the president of Digital Equipment shows.

In my talk I itend to provide a brief survey of some of the developments in various scientific disciplines and about the plans that some individuals, publishers and scientific societies have. I will describe the aims of several digital library projects and I will, in particular, report about a cooperative effort often scholarly societies in Germany in the area of electronic information and communication and the plans of some driving forces in the mathematical community to establish a worldwide electronic information system for mathematics, the MathNet.