ASHS Publications Department Role in Implementing Hort-Base

Abstract

The ASHS Publications Department's primary function is to organize and manage the Society's peer-review system and distribute the horticultural information that meets the requirements for dissemination. As Web and other electronic information distribution systems come on-line, the functions of the department will not change, but the methods to achieving the final product will change. Issues such as the security of electronic peer-review and controlled methods of information dissemination are at the forefront of discussions among scientific publishers, and the role of established scientific society publication departments on how best to implement the changes brought about by Internet in the distribution of this information will be discussed. A comparison of the “traditional” methods of peer review and the future of peer review will be compared, and the synergism of the changes will also be addressed.