Sustainability of Scientific Journals in the developing world with special reference to Bangladesh

Abstract

The study aimed to explore the sustainability issues of journal publication in Bangladesh. Forty-three journal editors were interviewed, and 66 current journals were scanned. Findings reveal that 68~1o of the journals were published late, 30°/o had inconsistencies in typesetting, and 14% were indexed. Most journals were found either excellent or of good quality in terms of printing (85~'0), binding (77~'0), paper (92%), and graphic reproduction (76~'0). Most journals were not available in major libraries. Of the 43 editors, 28 reported to have cost-recovery of 1-45% from subscription, advertisement, and sales. About 74.4% of the editors did not consider their journals at stake. Although 86% of the editors were confident that their journals would sustain in the long run, 37 .3~'0 could not cite any logic in support of their statement. Major problems include lack of finance and quality articles, skilled staff, institutional support; and lengthy peer review process. Only one claimed to be a full-time editor having training on editing and publication. Half (51%) of the editors reported to have training on editing, while four had publication training. Most editors (79%) showed keen interest in editing and publication training. Some suggestions are made to ensure sustainability of local journals.