It's time for academics to take back control of research journals | Universities | The Guardian

"The report shows how far we have strayed from the core principles of science first identified by Robert Merton in 1942: universalism, disinterestedness, organised scepticism and – most notably and perhaps most surprisingly – communism. The ideals of communism may have faded politically and economically through the 20th century – Merton later preferred the term “communalism” – but the belief in the “essentially cooperative and cumulative quality of scientific achievement” lives on.

Those ideals preserve the widespread notion that scholarly information should be shared freely. This is not to say that it should be shared for free – it has never meant that, except at a time when scholarly communication consisted solely of letters exchanged between gentlemen of science – but cost remains an issue. Profit margins well in excess of 30% earned by the likes of Elsevier and Springer Nature stick in the craw, particularly since they depend to a large extent on labour that these large publishing companies don’t pay for....

History reminds us of our values. It can be muffled by the noise of the day-to-day busyness that obscures our ideals and our greater purpose. By reminding researchers of their fealty to disciplinary communities and of their duties to the public purse, we can clarify the vision of the academic community. The report ends with a recommendation not just for researchers, but for other major stakeholders – principally government, funders, universities and learned societies – to look back at the winding road that has brought us to this unexpected present. It’s time to take back control so that we might yet arrive at the destination we had in mind at the start...."