Currently, Digital Scholarship is not valued or accepted on par with traditional methods of academic valuation. By that I mean: journal articles, monographs published by academic presses, and books. This creates a system that could potentially handicap the brightest and the best, young scholars aiming for tenure track positions. As digital scholarship is not valued, they will likely hold on to their work until they are able to secure a traditional avenue for the release of their work.

This is an okay model in that those bright students will be able to secure themselves tenure track positions in higher education which is their goal; however, as information and the release of knowledge is no longer controlled by higher education and academic presses, anyone could release a significant body of research for free on their website. The cost of publishing a book on your own is prohibitive; the cost of publishing a book on the internet is zero in many cases.

Walking through that door
If the best, brightest, or those holding out for tenure are withholding their work, who will then take the opportunity to publish their work for free?  I believe it will be those with little to lose: Scholars outside of tenure track positions and experts outside of academia. If a student has invested many years in research and still is unable to find a tenure track position, it seems that there would be much more to gain by just releasing it for free. As Kathleen Fitzpatrick demonstrated quantitatively during her presentation at the Digital University Conference, she achieved a wider reach with her website than would have the average release at an academic press.

It seems that the opportunity is ripe for young scholars to publish their work and seek recognition outside of academia. Perhaps success won’t be measured in terms of books, sabbaticals and grants but instead in speaking engagements and recognition. Chris Anderson again mentions this in his book Free that there are other forms of currency once can use in the marketplace of ideas. Among these currencies are Reputation and Attention. Could young scholars holding back their ideas awaiting validation from the current institution be costing themselves valuable time in accumulating recognition?

I’m simply speculating at this point, I don’t know what might come out of the current state. What I do know is that I speak with a great deal of young scholars and there is a disillusionment about the value of digital scholarship, a frustration about the lack of jobs in the marketplace, and a strong sense of idealism and opportunity. The direction of digital scholarship might not rest in the hands of Academia, but instead it might rest in the hands of young scholars who now have an alternative means to express their ideas.