Scholarly

The Illusion of Inclusion? Reassessing the Equity of Transformative Agreements in Open Access Publishing

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Open Access and the Search for Sustainable Funding The open access (OA) movement was founded on a simple but transformative principle: scholarly knowledge, particularly research supported by public funding, should be freely accessible to everyone. Over the past two decades, this vision has reshaped scholarly communication by reducing barriers to reading, increasing the visibility of … Read more

Open Access Failed. But Not for the Reasons You Think

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Open access failed

Introduction: The Wrong Question Has open access failed? It is a tempting question, and increasingly, a popular one. Critics point to rising publishing costs, predatory journals, paper mills, and the growing frustration of researchers who feel that the system is no longer working in their favor. From a distance, the conclusion seems obvious. Open access … Read more

The Open Access Illusion: Free to Read, Expensive to Exist

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Open access illusion

Introduction For over two decades, open access has been framed as one of the most important moral victories in academic publishing. The idea is simple, elegant, and almost impossible to argue against. Knowledge, especially publicly funded knowledge, should be freely available to anyone who seeks it. No paywalls. No barriers. No gatekeeping based on ability … Read more

The Academic Publishing Market Has Flipped, And Most Publishers Haven’t Noticed

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Academic publishing market

Introduction Something fundamental has changed in academic publishing, and it did not arrive with a dramatic announcement or a clean transition plan. It happened quietly, almost awkwardly, as if the industry itself was not entirely aware of what was going on. For decades, the business model was straightforward. Publishers sold content to libraries, libraries paid … Read more

The Platform Takeover of Scholarly Publishing: Efficiency, Control, and the Quiet Capture of Academia

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Platform Takeover of Scholarly Publishing

Introduction Academic publishing did not collapse. It evolved, then quietly reorganized itself into something far more complex and far more controlled. What used to be a fragmented ecosystem of journals, university presses, and scholarly societies has gradually transformed into an interconnected network of platforms. This shift is not cosmetic or purely technological. It is structural, … Read more