[Web4lib] Why author's first names continue to be reduced to initials?

[Tomas Baiget]

?Dear colleagues, 

I wonder how it is possible that the [imho] absurd custom of signing scientific works with the author's first names reduced to initials persists. 

Why is this the usual practice? Does it come from the days when computing was expensive? Was it an effort to standardize and shorten author indexes of Science Citation Index and the like?


Was it an attempt to eliminate gender bias by removing potential cues to the author's sex?


This shortened form was feasible 50 years ago when there were many thousands fewer authors, but now it creates many ambiguities.

I'm the editor of the ISI journal "El profesional de la información" and we have reinstituted publishing the given names of authors, both of EPI articles and of each and every one of the citations from the bibliographies of the articles we publish. Are we wrong? 


I would note that we are adamant about consistent use of surnames and advocate for standardization of citation format to ensure that authors receive full credit for their body of work ( http://www.iralis.org ). The use of given names seems to be the logical next step in this effort.


I would appreciate your opinion,


Tomas Baiget
http://www.elprofesionaldelainformacion.com
http://www.directorioexit.info
Barcelona, Spain
baiget at sarenet.es