Plenary Session Presentations

Instead of money for reviewers -- credits for library?

Dr. Bloom has raised lots of critical issues, including the importance of recognition of the unsung heroes of the peer review process - the reviewers. He has also suggested some possible rewards. Appointment to editorial boards is nice, but it seems as though many journals have tenured editorial boards, and many editors fail to recognize their dedicated reviewers in this way. Letters to department heads and chairs are unlikely to be of much value.

My understanding is that, despite the advent of electronic publishing era, in which publication costs would be expected to decline, they continue to sky-rocket. While I have no problem with providing direct financial incentives to reviewers for their work, one could argue that part of many of our salaries is based upon a bit of service to our profession. What about publishers offering incentives of deep discounts to the reviewers' libraries for their journals. This cost-cutting measure would immediately be noticed by the administrations of most of our colleges and universities. Are there any university librarians out there that could comment on this idea?

btw, Dr. Bloom has missed one important reason for the extensive journal (and grant) reviewiewing in which many of us take part -- it forces us to keep up with the literature.

Thu Dec 10