>Dear Zoologists and Taxonomists interested in nomenclature, > >The ICZN rules governing availability of animal names require publication in >a durable medium. To date, that has been interpreted as including paper and >'hard' digital media such as CD-ROMs, but this has become increasingly >problematic as electronic publication becomes more common. To address this >issue the Commission is considering an amendment to the Code that will >permit electronic publication of new names and nomenclatural acts. A draft >has been published today in ZooTaxa, and will be followed by publication in >other journals, including the Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. This >initiates a year-long period for community input, after which a final >amendment will be drafted and voted upon by the Commission. > >The published draft may be downloaded from: >the ICZN website (www.iczn.org) or >the Zootaxa website http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ > >The summary points are: >* Electronic-only publications should be allowed, if mechanisms can be found >that give reasonable assurance of the long-term accessibility of the >information they contain. >* Some method of registration should be part of the mechanism of allowing >electronic publication of names and nomenclatural acts. >* Physical works that are not paper-based (e.g. CD-ROMs, DVDs) should be >disallowed. > >We welcome your input on this important topic. > >Best wishes, > >Ellinor Michel
Malcolm McCallum
