Soaring Prices Spur a Revolt in Scientific Publishing - NYTimes.com

"In fact, researchers say, academia is a paradise for publishers. First the public pays for most scientific research through, for example, the National Science Foundation. Then universities pay the salaries of scientists who do virtually all the writing, reviewing and editing. Universities sometimes even provide free office space to journals. Finally, authors typically sign over their copyright to publishers, who can sometimes bring in many millions of dollars a year in subscriptions for a single high-priced journal -- subscriptions paid by university libraries supported by tax dollars and tuition...."