UTAR Agriculture Science Journal

Next month, January 2015, we will be launching a new journal called the UTAR Agriculture Science Journal. UTAR stands for Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, I am the editor of this journal and we have been working on it for a year.

Not another journal!! That is the incredulous response I have been getting. We are indeed flooded with journals, mostly dying ones. Every week I get invitations to contribute articles to this or that 'international journal of science' or join the editorial board or become a peer reviewer. I ignore all of them. Originally scientists published to spread information for the public good. Now publication is business. Publishers make profits by selling journals to libraries and to readers. Some make scientists pay a publication fee. Scientists try to get published in the journals that have the best international circulation. Such journals charge heavy subscription fees because they believe that good libraries have no choice but to pay up. The scientist is just a pawn in this business.

The UTAR Agriculture Science Journal will provide scientists with a global audience at no cost to them. We will make the journal totally free of charge on the Internet. Readers will be able to download the contents without restrictions.For libraries that need to have printed copies we will provide printed copies at absolutely no charge, not even for postage.

How long with this journal survive? Stay with this blog and we will find out.