Links - Geoscience Society of New Zealand

A response to the NZJGG call for papers
Bruce Hayward, Auckland
In the last GSNZ Newsletter the Editor of NZJGG sent out a call for papers to be submitted, as
“there is now an empty cupboard in the NZJGG editor’s office”. There was no mention of why
this might be so, but we all know the answer – the introduction of page charges to publish in
NZJGG. The article even announced a new “incentive”, if authors pay $1500 our published
paper will be made immediately available online, free to everyone.
I was not surprised at the request, perhaps more surprised that it has taken so long to come. I
suspect the delay speaks volumes for NZ earth scientists loyalty and support for “our” journal
and maybe also reflects the lack of an alternative NZ journal in which to publish. Let’s face it,
the majority of NZ earth science research is now being published offshore, mostly in journals
free from page charges. I suspect a second reason for the shift to overseas’ journals is the
desire by University academics to publish in journals with higher impact factors to improve
their Performance-Based Research Fund scores. In my opinion this trend to overseas’ journals
is detrimental to our discipline here in NZ, as all of us now struggle to make ourselves aware
of what is being published on NZ geology, in spite of web-based search engines.
Why are we scientists reluctant to send our papers to NZJGG and pay the relatively modest
(for the present) page charges The answer is simple. Government funding for most of our
research has decreased in real terms over the last decade. There has been no increase in
funding to pay for page charges. We may write it into our grant applications, but since the pot
of money hasn’t increased it is an additional expense that must come from somewhere.
In the past, funding to publish NZJGG has come from subscriptions and direct government
subsidies. The Royal Society of NZ, as publisher of NZJGG, is moving towards free open
access for all its journals, which effectively means no subscription income. They are trying to
make up the shortfall by taking it out of our research funding. That would be fine if our
research funds were increasing. Instead, it is the subscription budgets of libraries that will
benefit. They may need some relief after year’s of cost-cutting, but not at the expense of our
dwindling research dollars.
Eighteen years ago, GSNZ membership strongly rejected the concept of introducing page
charges for our national journal (90% of respondents; GSNZ NL 85: 4), and even made an
offer to take over publication if this was the only way to save it from page charges (GSNZ NL
88: 3). The opinions of NZJGG’s major stakeholders were ignored and page charges were
introduced in 1990 (but waived if you were a personal subscriber). More recently this
concession has been removed and the rates increased and unfortunately NZJGG is now
reaping the reward. Sure we are in a new environment with dual paper and internet
publication, but the journal will starve to death if it doesn’t get fed.
NZJGG must survive, but not at the expense of our shrinking research funding.
GSNZ Newsletter 143 (2007) Page 19