Deep South v.1 n.3 (October, 1995)
I was greatly surprised and pleased to be invited to present the editorial for the third issue of Deep South. I was somewhat relieved to find that the person they really wanted was too busy, so they asked me. That, at least, makes me more comfortable in the company of previous editorial contributors.
Deep South was something of a bold experiment for the Computing Services Centre, and for the post-graduate students who are responsible for it.
They knew what they wanted to produce: a high quality journal with international exposure, all done on a shoestring.
We knew that the Internet and the Web were a valuable tool for the academic community at the University, if only there was some way to introduce them to it. We especially needed to make it clear that it was of value to all academic staff and students, not just the computer geeks.
The Web and Deep South were a perfect match. The result was the first academic journal to be published via the Web at the University of Otago. So far it seems to be a success, getting to a third issue, and with plans for a final edition for 1995 well underway ( with, perhaps, the editorial author they really want ). There have been submissions from various parts of the world. An electronic Deep South is clearly being read more widely than a solely paper based publication could have been. In combination with a paper based version, it is possible to reach a much wider audience than could have been envisaged.
It has been put together by people whose leanings are not technical. They have put together a publication that stands with any other on the Web, proving that you don't need to be a computer expert.
From where I sit, it looks like a success.
It has been a success for the Computing Services Centre as well. The editors didn't have enormous expectations, nor a lot of preconceptions how an electronic journal should be put together, so it didn't demand a lot of resource from us. The editorial board of the journal put in a lot of time working out how to do it, how to make it look good, and how to keep on doing it. Along the way we hit a couple of glitches, and we know now how to do it. It has shown us that it can be done, and it will have shown other people at the University that it can be done.
We at the Computing Services Centre are proud to have been able to help in the development of Deep South. We hope that it influences others at the University to pursue this kind of project.
We certainly offer the editors of Deep South all encouragement to continue presenting this journal, and look forward to seeing how it develops.
If any departments at the University wish more information on how to go about creating something like Deep South, please contact the Computing Services Centre Webmaster.
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