Welcome to APE 2010 -
Academic Publishing in Europe No. 5
This fifth APE Conference is about 'the roles of researchers, librarians and publishers' in scholarly communication and in general about the role of information in science, education and society.
The conference program has been developed by a high level Program Committee and offers a broad perspective, varying from research excellence, use of information, metrics, ratings and rankings, content innovation, funding and investing, business models, new types of information, enabling 
technologies,repositories, search engines, dissemination, access and sharing of knowledge. And we may hear more about the Amended Google Book Settlement.
The Pre-Conference Day offers a professional education and training course to all those, who deal with the acquisition, handling, publishing and dissemination of information and who want to be successful in publishing.
APE Conferences encourage the debate about the future of scientific publications, information dissemination and access to scientific results. They offer an independent forum for 'open minds' with a free exchange of opinions and experiences between all stakeholders. Participants are: academic, educational, scientific, technological, medical, legal and professional publishers, university presses, researchers, authors, editors, librarians, teachers, learned and professional societies and associations, funding agencies, politicians and policy makers, subscription agencies and booksellers, recruiting agencies and technology providers.
APE Conferences aim at a better understanding of scholarly communication through value-added publishing. They provide an inventory and show the way ahead in a collaborative effort involving all stakeholders. At the same time APE Conferences are open for a review of new enabling technologies that may cope with new requirements and also look at sustainability given the changes of behaviour. There is as yet no complete understanding of the economics of electronic publishing in the private and the public sector and of the various functions in the value chains. Coherent indicators are needed to measure the actual use and value of scientific information as a basis for future funding in the public sector and for investments in the private sector.
On behalf of the APE 2010 Organising Committee, Arnoud de Kemp.