Introduction For decades, the dominant academic publishing ecosystem has been one where research, often funded by public money, is locked behind expensive subscription paywalls. This has fueled a crisis of access, disproportionately affecting institutions and scholars in the Global South and the public at large. Enter open access, a movement aiming to liberate research from … Read more
Introduction Plan S was launched in 2018 by a coalition of research funding organizations known as cOAlition S. The original mandate was to accelerate the transition to full and immediate open access for scholarly publications. It’s a bold, disruptive, and arguably long-overdue attempt to change how publicly funded research is disseminated fundamentally. For years, the … Read more
Introduction The question of whether open access, the movement advocating for free and immediate access to scholarly research, will eventually “die” can be one a provocative debate in academic publishing. It’s a bit like asking if the internet will die: the underlying technology and fundamental human desire for knowledge sharing aren’t going anywhere, but the … Read more
Introduction Welcome to the academic jungle. For years now, a particular species of profiteer has been multiplying rapidly, masquerading as legitimate scholarly communication: the predatory journals. These entities, driven by profit rather than scholarship, exploit the open access publishing model and the academic pressure to “publish or perish.” They promise rapid publication, often for a … Read more
Introduction The relationship between political administrations and the scientific community is always a complex dance, but under Donald Trump, it quickly turned into an aggressive, one-sided tango. For the world of scientific publishing, the impact wasn’t just about uncomfortable headlines. It was a deep, systemic threat to the bedrock of evidence-based research: funding, data access, … Read more