In UC’s battle with the world’s largest scientific publisher, the future of information is at stake

Steve Simon

2018-12-11

The University of California (UC) is in the midst of a difficult negotiation with Reed Elsevier, a major publisher of research journals. The dispute relates to the traditional model of publishing where the author writes for a journal for free and the journal sells subscriptions to individuals and libraries. A newer publication model is Open Source, where the author pays a fee to get the article published, and then the article is made available for free to any and all readers. The UC library wants a large reduction in subscription fees and is threatening to cancel the Elsevier subscription and rely solely on open source journals. The issues are complicated and this article lays out both sides carefully.

Michael Hiltzik. In UC’s battle with the world’s largest scientific publisher, the future of information is at stake. The Los Angeles Times, December 7, 2018. Available in html format.