The Future of the Journal of Insect Science

"Professor Henry Hagedorn, founder and first Editor-in-Chief (EiC) of the Journal of Insect Science (JIS), was a visionary, starting the first Open Access (OA) entomology journal. To clarify, Henry defined an OA journal as a scholarly publication that provides unrestricted internet access to peer-reviewed manuscripts. One does not have to be a member of any society to publish in JIS—anyone can publish, and anyone can freely access the publications. Henry made this move to create an OA entomology journal when he resigned as the EiC of another prestigious entomology journal. In an open letter (http:// web.archive.org/web/20040414151325/, http:/www.insectscience.org/ about/change/openletter/), he explained his feelings: commercial publishers were increasing subscription charges quite substantially above inflation, yet journal contents remained more or less the same from year to year. Additionally, he argued, since publication was tied to an expensive method of dissemination—printed material—researchers were essentially held hostage to marketing forces and readers forced to pay monetarily for information. Henry also envisioned a time when print publication would no longer reduce the velocity of scholarship; JIS manuscripts were to be published immediately after review and formatting, without waiting for an assemblage of other manuscripts and printing of an issue. JIS is now part of the family of journals of the Entomological Society of America and published by Oxford University Press, which presents us with many exciting possibilities. The Journal is still open to all subject areas, we are improving the review and publication turn-around times, and we are continuing Henry’s commitment to support the work of scholars from all parts of the world by continuing to offer the opportunity to publish the abstract in both English and their native language ..."