Open Access – Beyond the Numbers

Much of the discussion about the merits of Open Access (OA) publishing has centred on the numbers; on whether, when all costs have been taken into account, it is cheaper to publish on an OA basis than in commercially run, subscription journals. But there are wider considerations than these. In this briefing, I outline the case for OA and the creation and dissemination of new knowledge. The properties of knowledge are key to both scholarly activity and to the efficient and effective workings of the knowledge economy. Seen from this point of view, there is a strong case for OA publishing, irrespective of the balance of publishing costs. This does not mean that there is no place for private, for-profit investment in the scholarly communication lifecycle. The alternative approach has been before us since IBM made the decision in 1998 to rebuild its business model around the Linux operating system and to make its profits from adding services to an open source platform, and in open innovation and customer innovation approaches to building new forms of business models. Rather than exacting tolls through roadblocks along the highway, public investment in the production of scholarly knowledge may best be situated in optional, value-add user services that are easily accessible during the journey.