strains). Insofar that scientific publication is central to the forward progress of the scientific community, it is presumed that an author must provide data and materials in a way that others can build on them. These widely held expectations are not necessarily incorporated in current journal policies.

At the workshop and in its deliberations, the committee attempted to distill the community’s most basic interests in the process of publication. It found that a majority of the scientific community held common ideas and values about publication and the role it plays in science, and that those ideas have guided the development of community standards that facilitate the use of scientific information and ensure its quality. Central to those ideas is a concept the committee called “the uniform