Scholarly Communication Institutions: Transforming Scholarship with History Shawn Martin Indiana University – Bloomington 4S Conference November 13, 2015

What is “scholarly communication?” Creation Dissemination Management Scholarship

What is “scholarly communication?” “Seventeenth-century commentators felt secure in guaranteeing the truthfulness of narratives by pointing to the integrity of those who proffered them. . . . Trust is no longer bestowed on familiar individuals; it is accorded to institutions and abstract capacities thought to reside in certain institutions.” - Steven Shapin, A Social History of Truth

What is “scholarly communication?” “As digital content becomes the primary form of scholarly discourse, the need for trust mechanisms will grow. . . . Trust is an inherently social construct that varies widely by culture, context, and time.” - Christine Borgman , Scholarship in the Digital Age

Problem As more scholarship is produced, scholarly communication and its institutions become more complex Trust in the system gets generated in different ways How can history help us answer how trust is generated in the scholarly communication system?

Can history help solve the problem? What were solutions at the transition of the last scholarly communication system?

Can history help solve the problem? Movement toward professionalization Beginnings of professional societies Focus on research as means toward professionalization of university faculty Shift from placing trust in reputation of individual to trust in journals

Professionalization of history Trained in Germany and professor at Johns Hopkins Saw original research as the foundation of the discipline Envisioned “an American Historical Review under the auspices of the [American Historical] Association.” Herbert Baxter Adams (1850 – 1901) , first secretary of the American Historical Association

Professionalization of history Articles come from board of editors and well-known historians Initially readers relied on reputations of authors Now we rely on reputation of journal

Conclusions Both historical and current scholarly communication institutions built on Reputation Trust Now moving back toward trusting in individuals (Twitter) Do scholarly communication institutions need to be redesigned to ensure trust in the system?