At the beginning of this month, Science released a comprehensive article that weighed the costs and benefits of an open-access publication model for scientific publishing. Titled ‘A new mandate highlights cost, benefits of making all scientific articles free to read,’ the article provides evidence for the benefits and challenges of the open access model on the scientific publishing landscape. We highly recommend reading the entire article for a complete understanding of an important conversation in the scholarly publication world. Here is a brief overview of open access and how it differs from the subscription based model.
An open access publication model allows for readers to access and read scholarly publications without needing to pay a subscription fee or other fee to the publisher. This model is in contrast to a subscription based model in which there is a paywall or other fee that must be paid before accessing the scholarly article. With open access articles, researchers can potentially disseminate their work to a larger, more diverse audience. The immediacy in which the article is available allows for researchers to contribute to the larger, ongoing research within their specific subset of the scientific community. The open access publication model impacts readers too. This model can draw in readers from different walks of life. From primary school teachers and their students to science enthusiasts who are interested in a certain topic to faculty members or staff affiliated with an academic institution, the open access model allows these individuals to engage with scholarly publication without paying a significant fee.
Open access is not without its limitations. If publishers move away from a subscription based model, they must find a way to offset that lost revenue. Publishers, researchers and institutions must wrestle with who is responsible for any new costs that arise from open access publishing. Some publishers have instituted an open access publishing fee to help recoup financial losses. But these fees can be hefty for researchers and academic institutions. For now, there’s no indication that the open access model will overtake a subscription based model.
These conversations are ongoing and chances are the open-access model won’t completely overtake the traditional, subscription based model in the near future. As researchers and scholars, these conversations have an impact on your career and the broader scientific community and it’s important to understand how the landscape may or may not change. If you have any questions about open-access articles or any scholarly publishing questions, please contact Himmelfarb staff at himmelfarb@gwu.edu.
