20 - Epilogue: trust in academic and professional publishing

Abstract

This chapter highlights the core message provided by the book’s contributions: the central role of trust in academic and professional publishing. Publishing is undergoing rapid changes in technology, business models, production processes, delivery channels and user expectations, and so the chapter reviews what publishers need to understand about how trust was established and maintained in the print era and what needs to change, and what doesn’t, now that digital publishing dominates. Publishers need to establish and maintain trust in the online world if the enduring values established over hundreds of years are to last, but they can only do so by understanding the online world, adapting to change and continuing to add value to scholarly communications.