Open access taken to the extreme: do we need journals?

Abstract

Based on the idea that the purpose of scientific publication is that knowledge reaches those who need it as quickly as possible and in the best way, the paper reviews the impact of the internet and new technologies in publication models, from self-archiving to open access. A comparison is also made with the developments occurring in the media. Finally, new trends and approaches in scientific publication are outlined that will lead to new scenarios, from which new models will be evaluated and redesigned in the future.