The history of scholarly journal publishing is generally dated from the appearance of the Philosophical Transactionsof the Royal Society of London in 1665.1 The notable features of this publication are that it is the property of alearned society, and at the time of its inception reflected the deliberations of the scholars of the day from acrossEurope. It gained its stature from contributions by members of the learned society and the esteem of a broaderscholarly community that used it as a vehicle to exchange ideas. Since the inception of the notion of the ‘scholarlyjournal’, the number of journals, and the range of subjects covered, has proliferated dramatically. In addition, themodel for journal publishing has moved from the historical learned society publisher through to the emergenceof large commercial publishers who dominate the market. The rise of electronic publishing has made it possiblefor predatory publishers with no pretensions of quality to join the fray. The various journal databases currently listin excess of 30 000 reputable titles and with the emergence of open-access online journals, the number is beingproliferated extravagantly and with little regard for the quality of what is published. For an aspiring scholar who islooking for a credible vehicle in which to publish his or her work, the choices are bewildering. But informed choicesare crucial for establishing a scholarly reputation. Thankfully, help is at hand in the form of the work that has beendone in South Africa to enhance the reputation of local scholarly journals.
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