Parallel universes: open access and open source

Posted Feb 24, 2006 1:57 UTC (Fri) by barbara (guest, #3014)
Parent article: Parallel universes: open access and open source

Interesting article. It's well past time for open access in academia.
Outrageous subscription fees for scientific journals have plagued users
and libraries alike for years. So ... I'm all for electronic editions and
open access.

However, my BS meter went to "high" when I read "Both agreed to pay the
page charges that "gold" open access titles need in order to provide the
content free to readers - typically $1000 per page." Someone is certainly
raking in the moola at $1,000 per page. E-print servers, such as
http://xxx.lanl.gov/ have no fees. So, what extra does a scientific
electronic journal provide beyond an e-print service? 1) refereeing, but
referees donate their services for free! 2) editorial services, but this
does not cost $1000 per page! Sounds like rip-off city to me.