Beware the Hype of Digital Publishing: Creating Useful Information Requires Work

Scientific publishing is changing; Open Access allows for published information to be freely shared, and Open Data repositories [1] are improving our ability to share and (re-)use data. These and initiatives such as RDA, FORCE11, and FAIR, [2, 3, 4] are changing the way we perceive the notion of publishing science. In the laboratory, equipment is becoming interconnected and new technologies are producing vast amounts of data; transformative change is underway. New publication practices are required that address the needs of the data producers and the data users. Many community-based grassroots projects and initiatives have already successfully set up infrastructures for storing and sharing data.