Electronic Distribution of the Publications of the State Academies of Science

Abstract

State academies of science originated in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a means to provide scientists at the state and local level with the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas. Since their origin, most state academies of science have disseminated regional scientific research through the publication of state academy journals and conference proceedings. Due to limited resources, most state academies have been slow to move to electronic publication and distribution of scientific research. However, a number of state academies have created electronic journals and/or have begun using commercial database producers to distribute their research as full-text content in aggregated databases. This article examines the progress made by the state academies of science in electronic publication.