Report: Excerpts from “Defining and Certifying Electronic Publication in Science”

Abstract

At the request of the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers, an international working group prepared a paper on what constitutes publication in science in the electronic environment. The excerpts below address the importance of defining publication in science, the distinctions between first publication and definitive publication, the challenges inherent in this publication process, and the necessity of preserving the bibliographic record.