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> The journal industry already has a vice-like grip on the research institutions. They can keep raising the subscription prices, and, to stay alive, the researc
by rflrob 15y ago
> The journal industry already has a vice-like grip on the research institutions. They can keep raising the subscription prices, and, to stay alive, the research institutions have to pay up.
While it's generally true that research institutions aren't generally willing to consider declining to subscribe, they aren't entirely helpless. A couple years ago, in response to huge price increases from the Nature Publishing Group, the University of California system organized a (moderately effective) boycott, where scientists would not submit papers to any NPG journal [1].
[1] http://chronicle.com/article/U-of-California-Tries-Just/65823/ http://chronicle.com/article/U-of-California-Tries-Just/6582...
- RichardPrice 15y agoYou're right, there are cases of boycotts like this. Another interesting case was when the whole editorial body of the journal "Topology" resigned in 2006 because they thought that its owner, Elsevier, was charging too high a price for subscriptions. Those editors then set up a rival journal, called Journal of Topology. There is an interesting letter here from the editors of the journal explaining their reasoning behind their mass resignation http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/topology-letter.pdf http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/topology-letter.pdf
- SeanLuke 15y agoHow was it effective?
- etal 15y agoApparently it brought NPG back to the negotiating table: http://blogs.nature.com/news/2010/08/nature_and_california_make_nic_1.html http://blogs.nature.com/news/2010/08/nature_and_california_m... Unclear on the details, but presumably UC got a somewhat better price. (Note that UC was getting a better price than most libraries to begin with.)
- SeanLuke 15y agoI've seen no article indicating anything actually came out of this. Ongoing? Fizzled out? CA backed off?
- silvestrov 15y agoIt seems for me like this would be an great new market for Google: they know research and they know how to automate the process so the subscription price can be kept ridiculously low.