Article Processing Charges: Open Access could save global research | Frontiers Blog

"The total number of peer-reviewed research articles published each year increases by approximately 4% [Scopus]. In 2014, of these papers nearly 400,000 articles were Gold open-access papers, which is around 20% of all research articles — and this number is growing at an astonishing rate of 20% per year. (Lewis, 2013).  If the rate continues, open-access papers will exceed subscription papers in just a few years from now. This and similar observations have led some commentators to predict that traditional subscription journals will soon be a thing of the past (Lewis, 2012). But is this a credible prediction? Is open access capable of disrupting the whole scholarly publishing industry? Can it replace traditional publishing or force it to adopt new business models? The answers depend on whether open access satisfies two fundamental criteria for disruption: an increase in efficiency and decrease in costs. The new generation of open access publishers are 'born digital' which is undoubtedly far more efficient, but how much will universities, institutes and scientists save by switching to open access ? ..."