Rebuttal to the blog post “Is SciELO a Publication Favela?” authored by Jeffrey Beall

Editors of scientific journals sign note of rejection to Mr. Jeffrey Beall’s attempt of freely depreciate the successful image of SciELO.

Read the note here http://peloscielo.org/#en.

Below some of the comments:

The extremely inappropriate comments made by the author proves that he’s at least misinformed. Scielo has done a superb job in providing free access to scientific literature around the world and specifically in South America. I hope he will be able to read and get informed about SciELO for his next post.

Wallace Chamon, Editor-in-Chief of Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia

Sad and unfortunate are the comments expressed in this article that goes against one of the most important initiatives to increased internationalization and visibility of Brazilian journals.

Alexander Kellner, Editor-in-Chief of Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências

We totally repudiate this note trying to disqualify SciELO. The note in question seeks only to value commercial publishers, totally discarding the fact that for decades these publishers despised the efforts of scientific publications in Latin America. From the moment that these publications provided open access through SCIELO, their visibility made them regular competitors of commercial publishers. As for example, we (GMB) were sought (for the last 5 years) by commercial publishers to migrate to them. In other words, we began to exist. Thus, the dissemination and open access enabled by SCIELO made possible to the scientific community read quality papers and journals present on this platform. SciELO is associated to quality, which is its greatest capital that now has been under attacks like this, due to fear of competition. It is curious, though, that the text in question does not mention the hundreds of predatory publishers that, indeed, has sought to compete directly with commercial publishers, without, however, the necessary seek for quality. How unfortunate, Mr. Jeffrey Beall! You shall still watch SciELO grow and gain its place among its competitors. As our journals seeking quality shall get more space among the international scientific community, we will increasingly be able to meet the challenge of filling the gap between developed and emerging countries. By overcoming this challenge, we will be improving our planet.

Carlos Frederico Martins Menck, Editor-in-Chief of Genetics and Molecular Biology

Mr Jeffrey Beall,

Probably is a frustrated Editor, badly informed about the science in Brazil and Latin America. Scielo is pioneering a new way of science diffusion, offering free journals with high quality: from Brazil, and Latin America for the researchers, students and all who need to have access to the publications of the countries in that area. It is very difficult to us, to be accepted in the so called “first world”. We are very proud to have a non profit entity like Scielo, giving opportunity to our people to compete in the science environment, not only here, but in all the world, by accumulating experience, based in the opportunity offered by Scielo

Sincerely

Domingo Braile, Editor-in-Chief of Revista Brasileira de Cirurgia Cardiovascular

Getulio Batista, Editor of the journal Environment & Water, fully supports disacknowledge of such article. It makes no sense to associate the name “favela” pejoratively to scientific publishing, especially mentioning the SciELO collection, which does an extremely serious and quality work. I believe that commercial interests are dominating in a predatory manner scientific publications. While our research assessment system is heavily based on a commercial impact index over free and public alternatives, such as Google Metrics and SciELO’s Impact Factor, we remain vulnerable to this kind of innuendo to submit to the interests of commercial companies.

Getulio Batista, Editor-in-Chief of Revista Ambiente & Água

We fully agree regarding the disacknowledge of the inconvenient declaration, exclusive and aggressive statement of the so-called “editor”, that makes it clear in his offensive words how much we, editors, should be guided by ethics, author’s respect and scientific dissemination. SciELO has been our compass and mainstay in the aggrandizement of the Brazilian scientific publication, and thus, deserves our respect and admiration.

Arlinda Cantero Dorsa, Editor-in-Chief of Interações (Campo Grande)

I fully support the rejection of this article.

But the level is so mediocre, that might not be appropriate to pay any attention….

Silvio R. A. Salinas, Editor-in-Chief of Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Física