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After a quiet coffee there was a chance encounter with two information officers from Kings’ College. They tell me academics are long-cynical of the publishing cycle and the stronghold that academic journals have over hoarding information. They’re here to look at better ways of publishing. Subscriptions to journals are exorbitant, they tell me, and fees rise over 10% annually. Price isn’t the only factor, as they complain that their own lecturers have to pay to access their own published articles. The situation is complex but the apparent monopoly of information makes it difficult for any decent level of information to be made available. Later that day, and by chance, I met Dr Ulrich Weineke. He’s bypassed the academic publishing world and developed a wiki on his own pet hobby, Stromboidea. Okay that might sound a little dull, but because of his open attitude to social media his site has developed a world-leading source on these gastropods, with professors posting findings not in journals, but rather on his site. Reliability of information is a large issue in any industry, but specifically with the academic community. Dr Weineke resolves this problem by maintaining control over who can post. Simply if you can prove you are an expert on a topic, you’re in. And academic publishers such as Sage are getting nervous. They too are in this show to champion a more open access subscription method. Cheaper subscription fees if you choose to publish through a Sage journal. Sage hold the power in the academic publishing industry, but the community is undoubtedly frustrated with the giant, and it seems to be battling in a David verses Goliath scenario. With the phenomenal popularity of sites such as like Wikipedia, it’s interesting to see how traditional market leaders adapt to survive. |
