Why do researchers have to pay to read research papers? - Quora

Question: "While the content of papers are generated by the researchers, publishers get money from both researchers and viewers. Even though most of the fees are paid by the researchers' institution/ organization, the price is not cheap at all for independent researchers. Why does this system exist, shouldn't papers be free for everyone who need them? How are publishers able to charge such an extraordinary sum, and why scientific knowledge is able to be restricted from the public."

At the time of tagging for OATP, there were 21 answers.