New momentum for Open Access | Max Planck Society

"In his guest contribution for the Tagespiegel newspaper, Martin Stratmann pleads for open access to become the rule in scientific publishing. This is essential for both research and innovation - and, as studies show, it can be achieved without additional financial resources.

Knowledge goods are presented more and more in electronic rather than book form. They can be distributed via the Internet today, without any major logistical effort. However, the business model that operates between publishers and libraries originates from a time when the distribution of printed volumes and journals posed a considerable challenge. Against this background, subscription is no longer fit for purpose as a payment model.

In this age of digitization, it is anachronistic for research findings to remain hidden behind electronic paywalls. Scientific cooperation, interdisciplinary and international exchange, data aggregation – all of these things are hindered by the artificial barriers erected by publishers with their subscription services."