Electronic publishing. Threats or new possibilities for scientific publishers?

Scandinavian University Press is a leading scientific publisher in Scandinavia. The publishing company works continuously to strengthen and further develop this position. This means constantly developing new and improved information and knowledge products in accordance with the needs of their users. In some fields Scandinavian University Press intends to be one step ahead of their users' needs. This applies in particular to the area of electronic publishing.

Since 1993 Scandinavian University Press has worked on various electronic publishing projects. The early products were marked by the company's need to acquire knowledge and build competence within the organisation. In the past few years their work has been more commercial. For instance several of their scientific journals are now available on the Internet. In his talk Terje Osmundsen will address some of the problems the company has encountered up till now and present some of the solutions Scandinavian University Press is presently working on. He concludes that the company is faced with great possibilities but also considerable challenges in this field.

Electronic publishing is not just a question of choice of technology. It is just as important to obtain knowledge of the needs of the company's customers - the readers of their publications and the authors who want to publish their work with Scandinavian University Press. A number of questions concerning copyright issues still needs to be discussed.

As mentioned above scientific journals is the field of electronic publishing in which Scandinavian University Press is most experienced, but in the near future we will turn to other forms of scientific publishing. A bit further ahead we will work on the educational institutions needs as to student literature. What role will Scandinavian University Press play in the educational institutions' work to put together tailored literature lists in agreement with the requirements of their specific courses? How can this literature be made available to the students in a convenient and cost-effective way? Electronic publishing may be a supplement to the text books the publisher already offers. Mr Osmundsen's talk will cover some of the opportunities and threats Scandinavian University Press is facing, and he will also make suggestions concerning the possibilities that lies within a co-operation with the educational institutions.

In addition to the technological possibilities and the needs of readers, authors and institutions, Scandinavian University Press must also consider what is commercially interesting. There are considerable opportunities in electronic publishing, but there are also substantial development costs. Scandinavian University Press is prepared to invest in this area, but in the long term electronic publishing must be made a profitable area for the company.

Terje Osmundsen
Managing Director
Scandinavian University Press
P.b. 2959 Tøyen
N-0908 Oslo
tos@scup.no