Electronic publication

[Robert Mesibov]

Perhaps I wasn't as clear in my post as I hoped I was. The issue I was
raising concerns what, under the Code, is or is not a published work. I
entirely agree with Steve Shattuck that online availability of taxonomic
publications is important, and that's what we would be aiming for in the
proposed taxonomic issue of the QVM Records.

An issue published in this way would appear in three different formats:

1. Paper, but only in a limited number of copies.
2. CD-ROM, containing digital versions of the printed issue with _exactly_
the same content, format and appearance for the included papers (probably
in PDF). A large set of copies of the CD would be produced and sent to most
subscribers.
3. Online, with downloadable PDFs of individual papers. These PDFs, to keep
file size down, would not be identical with the PDFs on the CD, because
they would contain lower-resolution images of items like SEMs.

As I understand the Code, Vladimir, the online versions are not published
works principally because they aren't identical with the 'primary' print
versions, not because they are distributed online. They are copies, rather
like photocopies.

A separate issue is print vs. CD. Under section 8.6 of the Code, could we
not issue the CD as our 'primary' version, with a screen-print label and
on-CD information on date of publication, etc? In that case, would the
paper version not be a published work, but just a copy like the online version?

Dr Robert Mesibov
Honorary Research Associate
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Home contact: PO Box 101, Penguin, Tasmania, Australia 7316
(03) 64371195; 61 03 64371195