Inaugural Editorial: Welcome to ASCE OPEN

Abstract

Much time has passed since Newton wrote to Robert Hooke in a 1675 letter, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”—a metaphor that predates even Newton by more than four centuries. His distinct acknowledgment of others who paved the way for his own revolutionary work is remarkable in both its simplicity and humility. It was clear that others also deserved recognition, but in that statement, he implicitly acknowledged the power of scientific correspondence as well because, without it, he might not have even known there were giants around from whom he could learn. It is thus how science and engineering, including our own—and arguably the most senior of them all—civil engineering, make progress. We, often without personal acquaintance and almost always asynchronously, communicate and learn from each other, with sometimes decades or even centuries separating us. The conduits of these interactions are manifold, but the main one today is our peer-reviewed journals. The moniker implies printed matter, yet that format has all but evolved out of existence. Needless to say, just like our science, our journals do evolve. The latest development we are experiencing in the world of science and engineering communications is a steady migration toward open publishing. Simply put, open publishing is the practice of making information and creative works available to the general public without restrictions or cost. This mode of publishing offers many virtues that benefit both the creators and the consumers of knowledge and information. Open publishing spurs creativity and knowledge development by removing access barriers and bringing more people from diverse backgrounds into collaboration and cocreation. Otherwise, you might be less inclined to access an article from a neighboring discipline, or from the same discipline but a different country, if it required additional subscriptions. Open publishing can also benefit creators by giving them broader exposure and recognition (citations). By the same token, constructive criticism from a wider audience can help authors improve their work. Finally, open publishing reduces the barriers that prevent marginalized groups from accessing knowledge, which is a prerequisite for participating in knowledge production. In all, open publishing should accelerate the pace of inventions and discoveries in our community, and supporting and promoting it will enable a more informed, creative, and just society.