Open Access Publishing And Its Economic Impact

NEW: On July 1, the NIH started requiring that all agency-funded research be made freely, immediately available. And in response, some academic publishers are giving scientists no choice but to pay thousands in open-access fees in order to publish their research and comply with the NIH mandate. In a year when federal funding has been exceptionally unreliable, scientists say they are stressed about spending grant dollars on unexpected and questionable #openaccess charges. Things don’t have to be this way, open-science experts say: These fees are imposed entirely by publishers. The most prominent examples are Springer Nature and Elsevier, for-profit enterprises that generate billions in revenue. “They’re responsible to shareholders, and not to the research community,” said Christopher Steven Marcum, who helped draft the federal government’s open-science data policy during the Biden administration. These policies are affecting researchers like Stephanie Rolin, who's been charged nearly $4,400 to publish her latest paper. “I think it is important that people have access to science,” she said. But she can't currently tap into her NIH grant, and even if she could, the open-access fee would eat into the $50,000 she’s allocated to annual #research costs. “If every paper that I publish is going to be 10 percent of my budget,” she said, “there’s only so many papers I’m going to be able to publish.” Read my latest for The Chronicle of Higher Education. And get in touch if you've got a story about how article-processing charges are affecting you! stephanie.lee@chronicle.com https://lnkd.in/gV_3RTdm

$3,000 open-access fee isn't just steep - it's creating a new form of academic inequality in 2025. In the AI era, if your research isn’t open access, it may not even exist. Not to AI. Not to the next generation of researchers. Not to anyone relying on tools like Elicit, Scite, or Scispace to surface the literature. That’s the reality we’re heading into. And we’re not fully ready for it. Here’s what’s happening 👇 AI tools mostly read what’s publicly available online. They prioritize open access by default—not by principle, but because that’s what they can see. Closed-access papers? Many of them are invisible to AI. Sure, newer agentic AI (like Deep Research) now bypass paywalls or access shady archives. But those tools aren’t mainstream (yet). Most don’t have access to them. And that creates a quiet split in visibility: → Those who can afford open access = more citations, more AI reads, more impact. → Those who can’t = invisible. That’s the part that worries me. We’ve seen this before. Visibility tied to privilege. Access tied to resources. And now, AI might amplify that divide. 7 strategies to tip the balance in smart, ethical ways: 1️⃣ Preprint Servers (Gold Standard for AI Access) 2️⃣ Conference Archives That Host Full Papers 3️⃣ Institutional Repositories 4️⃣ Government-Funded Collaborations 5️⃣ Attach Full PDFs to Research Profiles 6️⃣ Publish in Smarter OA Journals 7️⃣ Use Structured Metadata Will AI finally push the big journals to go fully open access? Maybe. But until then, we’re in a transition phase. And in this phase, discoverability isn’t just about what you write. It’s about where and how you publish it. So make it count. Because in the AI world, being invisible isn’t a reflection of your work’s value—it’s just a technicality. One you can control. What are some other strategies you use for increasing visibility?- --- P.S. Join my inner circle of 5000+ researchers for exclusive, actionable advice you won’t find anywhere else HERE: https://lnkd.in/e39x8W_P BONUS: When you subscribe, you instantly unlock my Research Idea GPT and Manuscript Outline Blueprint. Please reshare 🔄 if you got some value out of this...

Article processing charges remain one of the most pressing issues of open access publishing. The financial burden is problematic for many researchers, especially those in low-income regions or without significant funding. The publishing fees can be prohibitively expensive. This model risks excluding talented individuals from contributing to scientific discourse simply because they cannot afford to pay. While some initiatives offer reduced fees, they often fail to address the systemic barriers that persist. Additionally, reliance on Article processing charges can create a disparity in published research. Institutions with larger budgets can publish more frequently in prestigious journals. In contrast, those with limited resources struggle to gain recognition. This leads to an uneven playing field where only a select few voices are amplified. The stigma around open access publishing can also deter researchers. Concerns about journal reputability often lead to hesitation. Many choose traditional publishing routes that may not be as accessible. This perception hinders the widespread adoption of open access and entrenches existing inequalities. In summary, while open access publishing has great potential, financial barriers must be addressed. Without action, we risk favoring wealth over merit, stifling innovation and diversity in scientific research. We must advocate for solutions that ensure equitable access for all researchers, regardless of their financial circumstances.  Have you published an open access article recently? What’s your experience?  #OpenAccess #ResearchEquity #AcademicPublishing