Harvard University in Cambridge MA has said it wants
its professors and researchers to make their publications open-access and to
“resign” from established academic journals that keep their publications behind
expensive paywalls.
There is a story by Ian Sample in the Guardian here.
Harvard says its library can no longer afford the
outrageous subscription prices for so many journals. Harvard probably believes it is expressing the sentiment of most traditional universities.
But academic publishing is used to a business model
that makes it profitable, including peer review by unpaid post-doc’s or other
students.
One business model would have professors or
universities pay for the peer review and publishing, but then make the
publications free. But some object to
the idea of this form of “self-publishing” in academia, and believe the process
should be selective. And professors need to be compensated for the results of their research -- even like proving the 4-Color Problem!
The tragic history of Aaron Swartz (centered on MIT)
went right to the heart of the issue.
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