The use of the Internet and other digital information technologies by the scientific, technical, and medical (STM) research community in the United States and most other countries has transformed many aspects of the research and publishing process. The new technologies have created fundamental changes in the production, management, dissemination, and use of all types of information. It is now possible to communicate research results much more quickly, broadly, and openly than was possible through traditional print publications in the past. Researchers are now able to make available independently their data and articles online, where the information may be easily found, browsed, annotated, critiqued, downloaded, and freely shared. This is resulting.
