Open-access journal articles have been found, to some extent, to be downloaded and cited more than non-OA articles. But could the same be true for books? Carrie Calder reports on recent research in…
It’s all well and good to talk about notions that knowledge should be free for all of us. It seems reasonable to expect that university faculty would share their knowledge freely – after all, they are being funded through tax-payer dollars. Even private institutions get LOTS of government funding, so as a taxpayer, I would expect access to the fruits of that investment (i.e. knowledge).
If I had a full-time salary with benefits, I’d TOTALLY be on board with sharing my research openly. In fact, I would consider it an obligation.
But I DON’T.
I’m a sessional, who gets paid by the course, with NO benefits, and no job security.
I can’t AFFORD to give my expertise away.
I have to pay for my research out of my own pocket.
I have to pay for conferences, etc. out of my own pocket (yes, MRU generously offers travel funding to sessionals, but it doesn’t go very far).
I have to pay for my own dental, eye-care, etc. out of my own pocket.
I get no pension.
I can’t AFFORD to give my expertise away.
Part of the larger effect of open access and, especially for pay to publish sources, is that publishing favors those with money.
It becomes less about the merits of the work, and more about how much money you have. I know this has always been the case to some extent – people with the biggest grants often get to publish the most papers, but open access has made this WAY worse.
