bepress Advantages

The Berkeley Electronic Press was founded by a team of academics with years of experience as authors, reviewers, and editors of prestigious academic journals. All too familiar with the delays and inefficiencies in the current system of scholarly publishing, they conceptualized the bepress system as a way to revolutionize the process of publishing in peer-reviewed academic journals. Listed here are the key advantages of the bepress system for authors, readers, editors, reviewers, and libraries. Click here to read advantages of licensing bepress technology.

Authors

In addition to having the opportunity to be published in top-quality journals, authors submitting to The Berkeley Electronic Press publications get a speedy editorial decision on their papers (in most instances within 8 weeks of submission). The quick turnaround time is supported by a special incentive system, the Authors & Reviewers’ Bank, that formalizes the implicit obligations inherent in the peer-review process.

"I was very pleased with the whole bepress experience and am recommending it highly to my colleagues. Less than two months from submission to publication - this is really a life-changing innovation for researchers everywhere!"

- William Easterly, World Bank and contributor to The B.E. Journals in Macroeconomics

Before The Berkeley Electronic Press, the typical process from authoring to publication consisted of submitting an article multiple times, starting with a top-quality generalist journal in the field, and progressing through various other journals, until the article found a home. Journals that use The Berkeley Electronic Press's quality-rating system (patent pending) allow authors to submit simultaneously to several journals at once, giving authors a better opportunity for publication without having to resubmit to another journal.

In addition to the more timely publication of their work, authors also have less busywork to distract them from more important tasks. Since the articles are submitted as Word or PDF files ready for publication, there is no need for the time-consuming process of checking galleys. The submitted manuscripts are essentially published as the author chose to submit them (or as revised), so there are no errors generated by publishers re-typing manuscripts to suit their journal's requirements.

Readers

The Berkeley Electronic Press journals offer immediate, round-the-clock access to cutting edge research. Readers of bepress journals can elect to receive email notification about the latest publications and immediately access high quality peer-reviewed articles without waiting years until the articles are published, or hearing about them belatedly through the grapevine. All articles can be accessed directly online without requiring a special trip to the library.

"Academic publishing, suffering from an inefficient and outmoded review process that has failed to keep pace with the information age, will receive a much needed shot of energy from bepress. The bepress approach uses the marvels of electronic technology to bring cutting-edge research to the public in a timely manner without undermining the peer-review process. I am very excited about this model, which will place power back in the hands of individual scholars and those interested in their work."

- Laura D'Andrea Tyson, former Presidential advisor (Chair, National Economic Council) and Dean of the London Business School

The rapid turnaround time from submission to publication (as little as 8 weeks) does not come at the cost of quality — bepress journals are of the quality that one would expect from an established academic publication. All articles are peer-reviewed by top scholars from institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, and Yale. In addition, many bepress titles further sort articles based on how seminal they are and the degree to which they are of general or specific interest.

Editors

From submission to publication, the bepress system focuses on the streamlined management of the editorial process. EdiKit™, the web-based software at the heart of the bepress journal production system, enables editors to manage the editorial process efficiently from any computer with Internet access.

"EdiKit makes it much easier to produce a journal. It helps in tracking submissions, reviewing their status, and corresponding with authors. Automating the job means I'm less harried."

- James Gordley, Professor, University of California, Berkeley

Many routine editorial tasks are automated, and all communication between authors, editors, and reviewers is handled electronically allowing for easy oversight of content gathering and publication. For example, the system will automatically remind reviewers to follow through on their obligations to review, track requests for authors to revise and resubmit articles, and manage all correspondence among reviewers and authors (including the ability for reviewers to send email anonymously to authors). Editors may also easily configure the journal layout and publishing schedule. Furthermore, eliminating the cost of paper publication frees funds to be used toward supporting the journal or paying the editors, thereby enabling editors to benefit more from the success of their efforts.

Reviewers

The Berkeley Electronic Press's Authors & Reviewers’ Bank eliminates the tenuous "review-my-paper-now-and-I'll-review-yours-next-year" agreement by formalizing this reciprocity with a credit and debit system. Reviewers can choose what and when to referee, but after committing to review an article, the bepress incentive system eliminates delays and guarantees an editorial decision in 10 weeks. Reviewers will also know that their reports won't languish simply because another reviewer is taking too long to complete his or her assessment. The reviewers' efforts are reciprocated when they then submit an article to the same journal for which they have completed a review — they are guaranteed an equally rapid editorial decision.

Libraries

The Berkeley Electronic Press journals are designed for reading, research, and reference without a printed source. Libraries eliminate shelving, circulation, and storage costs, while further benefiting from affordable subscription prices.

"The Berkeley Electronic Press publishing system offers libraries an opportunity to provide faculty and students with high quality, easily accessible content at reasonable pricing. The bepress model allows scholars to publish their original, refereed research in a timely manner with direct delivery to the desktop. End-users benefit from the convenience of 24x7 access and libraries save the space and processing costs associated with print."

- Milt Ternberg, Head Librarian, Long Business & Economics Library, Haas School of Business

With the bepress journals, libraries can offer their patrons high-quality, peer-reviewed titles with anytime, anywhere access. This combination of quality and accessibility makes the bepress family of journals an important part of any collection.