(Date: September 19, 2004, author: Gunther Maier <gunther.maier@wu-wien.ac.at>)
FreeCite is a proposal for the development of free, open-source software for managing bibliographic references. Managing bibliographic references is an important task in scholarly writing. But, publishers and journals have very different standards for how research work should be referenced. The result is that researchers spend a lot of time reformatting bibliographic references from one standard to another.
FreeCite shall provide a computer based system that allows researchers to collect bibliographic references in a common format in a database and generate bibliographies therefrom in whatever format is needed. FreeCite shall combine additional features like import links to library catalogs, import filters for existing lists of references, export tools for other software like BibTeX, ProCite, EndNote, etc., a mechanism for repositories of references, a flexible script language for defining output formats, etc. Additional features will probably be suggested by the communities of developers and users.
The reason why I propose to develop FreeCite is that to my knowledge no such thing exists. Programs like ProCite and EndNote provide many of the features proposed for FreeCite, but not for free and not as open source. BibTex is free, but lacks many of the features. In particular it lacks Z39.50 import capabilities and an intuitive user interface.
One particular reason for proposing FreeCite is the Z39.50 import function in ProCite. When a reference is collected through this interface and used in a list of references by a researcher, chances are high that the information comes from a public source like a university library catalog and is used in the production of a public good. In this process, money flows to a private company which is smart enough to identify this market niche. Since I know the budgetary problems of universities in many countries, I wonder why it has to be this way. There is more accumulated knowledge in computing, information management and library sciences in universities than anywhere else. So, why don't we - the universities, the faculty members, the potential users of bibliographic management software - join forces and produce such a product ourselves? There are numerous examples where this has worked. Linux, TeX/LaTeX, Perl, R are just the most prominent ones.
There are some larger strategic issues behind the proposal of FreeCite. It is fair to say, I think, that the whole sector of scholarly publishing is currently restructuring. On the one hand, publishing companies merge into large publishing consortia, on the other the traditional form of printed publication is more and more replaced by electronic forms. In my scientific community publishers try to take over functions from scientific associations, e.g., by offering to manage member directories, run their web-sites, publish their newsletters and such. I see this as an attempt to regain some of the control that publishers have lost because of the shift to electronic forms of publication.
It is still unclear where this process will take us. So, for example, there are databases of working papers and journal articles in economics (e.g., http://www.repec.org) or we in the European Regional Science Association (http://www.ersa.org) still keep our member directory up and running despite the fact that indirectly this information is also managed by a publishing company. But, it is a fact universities spend a lot of money on journal subscriptions, more and more on subscriptions in electronic form. This money is spent on getting access to material that is mainly produced at universities and refereed by university faculty.
So, where is the strategic issue? FreeCite can create an example for how key services in the business of scholarly publishing can be recaptured by the universities. The proposed mechanism for repositories of references can give research associations a new role in this area and strengthen their position vis-à-vis the publishing companies. Well established repositories in a scientific discipline may force the publishers to provide the citations for the articles in their journals in order to increase their impact factor. This connects FreeCite also with citation indices and their use in evaluating research. Another strategic issue for future development of universities.
Currently (late September 2004), the "project" FreeCite is in a very early stage. It is not even a real project yet, more an idea and an attempt to program a prototype application. There is no funding for the development of FreeCite (yet), no project team, no project structure and no project strategy. However, as mentioned above, it is my intention to develop FreeCite in a collaborative effort as free, open source software. This will require a team of people collaborating in discussing the features of FreeCite, defining, and implementing them. If you want to be part of this team, please send me an email at <gunther.maier@wu-wien.ac.at>.
On this web-page you will find descriptions of various elements of FreeCite. These are MY PROPOSALS that reflect my current state of thinking. All these proposals are open for discussions and should be revised wherever it makes sense. If you want to comment on any one of these proposals, please do so. Currently, you will have to send me an email at <gunther.maier@wu-wien.ac.at>, but the plan is to install a more interactive discussion tool on the web site.
The information in this document reflects my current state of thinking about FreeCite. You are welcome to provide feedback and make suggestions. To do so, please send an email to <gunther.maier@wu-wien.ac.at>.