Re: Garfield: "Acknowledged Self-Archiving is Not Prior Publication"

From: David Goodman <dgoodman_at_PHOENIX.PRINCETON.EDU>
Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2002 15:59:10 -0400

Well, Stevan, how do I know that
your messages are usually worth
reading?

Seriously, (and please excuse the liberty of using you as an example) how
DO I know? I think that I know
because I've found it valuable to read earlier messages. I initially
discovered this because a colleague whom I trusted informed me about
them. Had she not done so, I would have found out anyway because many
people refer to them. Eventually, I heard you give a talk--which was a
sort of certification by the organizers of the conference.
These are all the informal channels of communication, and they are of
course in the life of many or most of us more important than the formal.

I will admit that for the purposes of serious administrative decisions
affecting people's careers, informal channels may not be
appropriate by themselves--though
here too they do play a role. And, like all methods of
formal and informal interpersonal interaction, they are subject to abuse.

Speaking of certification by journals, how many journals are there whose
certification we fully trust? In terms of quality, there are a few in
each
field; in terms of personal relevance, that's another matter.

You are right, incidentally,
that "certification"
is a better word for what we're talking about than "labeling."

David Goodman
Research Librarian and
Biological Sciences Bibliographer
Princeton University Library
dgoodman_at_princeton.edu 609-258-7785
Received on Thu Sep 05 2002 - 20:59:10 BST