d to demonstrate the need to look behind the myths about electronic publication being currently propagated on the net in order to shed some light on those corners of the world systematically ignored by proponents of technology and electronic communication. And there is certainly a need to turn the lights on. After all, when you think about it, anybody writing about electronic publication is likely to come from the upper echelons of the academic and management world. As a result, they are likely to bring with them certain values and attitudes that do not necessarily predispose them towards a critical examination of the projects they endorse. In next two sections we'll take a critical look at some of the issues and predictions of those who support the wholesale transformation of the scholarly enterprise. We'll begin with a look at the future of traditional publishers and end with an examination of Harnad's predictions for the transformation of the scholarly enterprise and the scholar's mindset. These next two sections amount to nothing more than an attempt to identify the sociological issues and point to questions that need empirical attention. In this process there will be much that I will miss and that others will need to fill in.The Demise of Traditional JournalsOne qualitative change that some are hoping for is a shift in the locus of the publication effort. As Ginsparg (1994) notes, the whole purpose of a journal is to a) communicate research info, and b) to validate this information for the purpose of job and grant allocation. In the realm of paper, fulfilling the twin purpose of publication has been best carried out by the intermediate publishing industry which has performed the essential functions of collecting and distributing material (traditional publishers of course have always relied on scholars for peer review and quality control). However, with the advent of electronic publication, there is less of a need for an intermediar...
