Life and death on the coral reef: an ecological perspective on scholarly publishing in the health sciences

Reflecting patterns evident in past Janet Doe lectures, the 2004 address draws on the foundations of biology to provide a model that offers insights into the advent of electronic publications and choices for the future. The lecture sketches a picture of the fragile relationships found in complex ecosystems and illustrates how such interdependencies function in the environment of the coral reef. Deriving lessons from the marine world, the lecture then shifts to a description of similarities in the realm of scholarly publishing, the impact of digital innovations in the marketplace, and the controversies and choices inherent in open access publications. Lessons from ecology and publishing lead to the conclusion that librarians must take action and risks in this time of dramatic environmental change.