If we were to start from scratch today to design a quality-controlled
archive and distribution system for scientific and technical information,
it could take a very different form from what has evolved in the past
decade from pre-existing print infrastructure. Ultimately, we might expect
some form of global knowledge network for research communications. Over
the
next decade, there are many technical and non-technical issues to address,
everything from identifying optimal formats and protocols for rendering,
indexing, linking, querying, accessing, mining, and transmitting the
information, to identifying sociological, legal, financial, and political
obstacles to realization of ideal systems. What near-term advances can
we
expect in automated classification systems, authoring tools, and
next-generation document formats to facilitate efficient datamining and
long-term archival stability? How will the information be authenticated
and
quality controlled? What differences should be expected in the realization
of these systems for different scientific research fields? What is the
proper role of governments and their funding agencies in this enterprise,
and what might be the role of suitably configured professional societies?
These and related questions will be considered in light of recent trends.