Does Traditional Publishing Hurt Scientific Progress?
If charges that traditional publishing slows research are true, what responsibility do research institutions have to encourage or provide alternative publishing methods? Is this another area of disruption where institutions could possible take something back?
Eighty five percent of published papers remain locked behind subscription pay walls, accessible only to those affiliated with universities and other large research institutions. But new journals that make everything they publish freely available are growing rapidly. And government efforts to make the results of all publicly funded scientific and medical research accessible to everyone are expanding, despite industry-backed legislative efforts to end them.
Backed into a corner, traditional publishers have launched a public relations campaign of sorts, attempting to justify their business practices by highlighting the value they add by overseeing peer review and editorial selection. Charging for access to their content, they argue, is the only way they can recoup their costs.
Labels: publishing, science, Research, University
Society for College and University Planning
