Further to Marc Couture's remarks.

From: (wrong string) édon <jean.claude.guedon_at_umontreal.ca>
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:58:04 -0400

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One of the author of the list has acknowledged that the number of
"entries" in the SHS collection of journals that I recently
advertised on this list did not correspond to the list of unique
titles of journals, but to the number of occurrences through four
sources (WoS, Scopus, ERIH and AERES). She confirmed the estimate
provided by Marc Couture bystating that there were about 9,500
hundred unique titles in the list.

She also gave the following bits of information:

1. The list should appear as a database before the end of the year;

2. An article is apparently being prepared to give details about the
methodology that was used to set up this list.

I have pleaded to make this database interface available in English
so as to make it easier to use for most people in the world. I have
also pleaded in favor of setting up some kind of network of local
observers that could provide clearer and more detailed background on
the existing journals in various countries. Organizations such as
eIFL could perhaps help on this as they already maintain contacts on
the ground in about 50 countries. Such a database should be open,
perhaps in the way that Wikipedia is open, with possibilities of
external input. The level of editorial control remains to be
established.

In short, it would be good to have a worldwide, distributed system
allowing for the monitoring of all peer-reviewed journals in the
world. it would be good to have a system that would not rely
exclusively on Western companies or Western scientific organizations.
These are quite useful, of course, but they obviously fail to cover
the whole world and this situation, wittingly or not, creates grave
imbalances in the visibility of research and researchers. If we are
concerned by OA as a way not only to create more access, but also to
create a more even-playing field for research in the world, we should
work on such a project. Whether the French team is the right starting
point for it remains to be assessed, but the objective, in my
opinion, remains urgent.

Jean-Claude Guédon
Received on Wed Aug 19 2009 - 01:57:08 BST