There are several opinion and blog posts about the benefits of preprint repositories on-line.
Making preprints or other interim research products publicly available serves many purposes. Not first among these is establishing priority. While many early concerns over public preprints centered on the possibility of researchers being 'scooped' by others taking either their ideas or their data, public preprint repositories timestamp all versions of uploaded projects, and therefore guarantee a public record of priority for the researcher uploading their work.
Also, given the frequently slow pace of peer review and editorial interaction, a public repository allows researchers to make their work available for others to see while it is still in the process of publication. This is especially beneficial in cases where a manuscript requires submission to multiple journals before publication. This more rapid availability further allows researchers to refer to their own work in concrete form, whether in other publications, grant applications, or grant progress reports.
