This is drawing attention as it suggests that Nature is trying an open-access online publication so that visitors can read for free.
The Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (KSBMB), a Korean academic association with nearly 10,000 members, announced on December 13 that"we have signed a publication contract with NPG to publish our journal Experimental and Molecular Medicine (EMM) through Nature. It will be published online, rather than in the form of a paper journal, so that anyone can read its contents for free." In the coming year, existing published papers will be moved to the server of Nature and plans to prepare an online publication will be made. The new publication will begin after January 1, 2013.
Professor KIM Jongil of SNU's College of Medicine, a member of the publication contract division, said, “Nature is seeking to publish several journals online. EMM will actively participate in this new trend of science publishing.” As a result, Nature is expected to function as a portal site of scientific journals.
In recent years, Nature has invited journals of a number of countries to be published through its homepage. However, this is the first time a Korean journal has become a part of the Nature family. Professor SEO Jeong Sun of SNU’s College of Medicine, the chief editor of EMM, expects that once EMM is included in NPG, the citation index will be greatly enhanced, enabling EMM to possibly become an international journal.
The open-access movement started as a reaction to the commercialization of scientific journals which asked for expensive fees. This movement spread widely after the success of online journals. Consequently, commercial journals like Nature have also started to move in this direction.
Written by PARK Ziho, SNU English Editor, snuitsm2@snu.ac.kr ?
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor, morningcalm2@gmail.com