Conference proceedings are often eagerly awaited and highly regarded in the scientific world. Often journals dedicate many issues to reporting on important conference materials. But Elsevier’s division of Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science and Astronomy (PMCA) has developed an online conference-reporting service that offers more speed and convenience than ever before possible.

In August of this year, PMCA launched Procedia; an online service dedicated to conference proceedings and related materials. David Clark, Publishing Director of PMCA, explains: “Procedia is a direct result of feedback we received from scientists and editors in our division,” he says. “Conference attendees repeatedly requested a faster and more complete way to receive materials discussed and presented at important conferences. After about a year of development and testing, Procedia is now ‘live’ and addressing that need.”

An online only publication, Procedia offers the room and capability to quickly and conveniently publish all conference materials in a very short time frame – often not more than six weeks after the conference is concluded. Unlike a conventional journal, Procedia has no regular publication schedule, so can publish an issue whenever one is needed. “Procedia enables conference organizers to disseminate materials in a reliable, affordable, fast and easily accessible format,” Clark says.

Applying to Physics

“We used Physics conferences as our ‘test case scenario’, since Physics conference materials seem to be in very high demand and highly regarded among researchers and authors,” says Charon Duermeijer, Publisher Nonlinear, Statistical and Applied Physics, PMCA. “Attendees from Physics conferences are always eager to receive the materials as soon as possible. We decided that would make it the perfect place to start our work on Procedia,” she says.

Physics Procedia has already released its first issue, and there are as many as six more issues already in the pipeline. Duermeijer explains that speed of publication is only one of the benefits of the new journal. “Often, when journals publish a print version of the materials, they are limited by space and format constraints. Journals aren’t able to publish all materials, and often only include the most prominent materials or edited versions of manuscripts.”

With Physics Procedia, conference organizers can post all materials in a single location on Science Direct, and Procedia will make the entire collection of materials accessible – including multimedia files and other files not communicable in a print environment. No special subscription is needed, since anyone with access to Science Direct can view the journal. Conference organizers can therefore share the results of recent conferences not only with attendees, but with all specialists in the field. Costs for publication vary, based on the amount of material provided, and access to the journal is free to all.

Broadening the scope

While Clark and Duermeijer are concentrating on Physics Procedia for now, they anticipate expansion into other areas very soon. Procedia is already working on an Energy version and a Chemistry version. The goal is to eventually open up the publication to many more fields of S&T and Health Sciences, where appropriate.

“We realize that the journal will be more helpful to some fields than to others,” Duermeijer says. “We’re working on new editions of Procedia based on need and the feedback we receive, both in- and outside of Elsevier. Hopefully, we’ll eventually be able to serve the needs of all relevant participant groups.”

Procedia offers conference organizers the opportunity to save time, space and costs of a print version of proceedings, and helps bring Elsevier closer to the trend towards electronic publications and faster results.

Service for satisfaction

“In principle, Procedia is much more a service offering than a conventional publication,” Clark says. “It’s a way to connect communities of scientists in the field and helping to continue the important discussions and issues addressed at conferences.”

This also offers clear benefits for journals, as well. By taking conference proceedings out of the regular publication schedule, journal editors are free to again fill their pages with other timely and relevant information in their field, without losing any benefits of publishing conference results. “In some instances, editors will continue to publish the best papers from a conference in a journal, but now we can use Procedia to publish all other papers of that conference; before we wouldn’t be able to accommodate such a request. It’s a win-win situation for all,” he continues.

Access to information

“There are, essentially, three ways we might receive a request to publish materials in Physics Procedia,” Duermeijer explains. “Requests can come either from journals who are currently printing their materials, or from conference organizers themselves. In addition, we are busy exploring and selecting prominent conferences and approaching them ourselves, to ensure that the most relevant and timely information is featured in an issue.”

“Physics Procedia is one more way Elsevier is working to improve the dissemination of relevant scientific information,” Clark says, “and at the same time, taking advantage of emerging technology to improve scientific communication.”

In addition to developing new versions of Procedia for other scientific disciplines, both Clark and Duermeijer expect further expansion of capabilities and features. “For the most part, we are open to the requests and suggestions of our customers,” Duermeijer says. “The online platform allows us room for development and improvement, to continue to serve the needs of our audiences.”

To cite this article, please use: Toni Bellanca, “Procedia: A faster link to conference proceedings”, Elsevier Editors’ Update, Issue 24, November 2008

Useful Links
  Physics Procedia Journal Description

  Physics Procedia