The June 26th issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, on page A12,
carries a feature on a plan currently being promoted by a group of
scholars, and supported in part, by the ARL, to alter the way in which
tenure is earned, by allowing for the acceptance of superior "grades" on
papers, as given by independent review panels.  It is thought that this
would decrease the dependence the tenure process has on journal
publication, and give greater validity to other forms of communication,
such as Web sites, which might cause journal subscription prices to drop.
The piece covers the issue of the high cost of journal subscriptions, Paul
Ginsparg, and electronic dissemination of papers.

Rob Atkinson
Fermilab Library
atkinson@fnal.gov