Globalization and Challenges in Scholarly Communication

Abstract

Globalization is breaking down national barriers in a number of ways, not least by the activities of multinational economic giants. The global domination of multinational publishers is growing in the print and digital environment, where profits outweigh in importance the dissemination of scholarly information. However, five of the world's principal research library groupings have agreed on joint actions aimed at securing open and affordable access to research publications. An International Scholarly Communications Forum will enable them to share information and expertise on scholarly communications issues. Developing countries need to establish focal points to provide physical spaces for access to information on the Internet at affordable prices.