In the decades after World War II, an international boost in research support drove explosive growth in scientific publications. This has given a small number of corporations whose businesses include the publisher and the database control of many of science’s most influential journals.

This needs to sit better with many researchers or their funding institutions. But is continued compromise with these large publishers the best path forward?

Benefits to the Research Community

Scientific publications have always been central to scientists’ work, providing a vehicle for communicating their results and a means to build a distinguished reputation. For centuries, community standards and the need for distinction have made it necessary and desirable for scientists to publish in journals vetted by fellow researchers.

Numerous scientific publishers in the industry, such as Bentham Science, are known for their commitment to disseminating high-quality research findings across various disciplines.

In addition, many societies conduct publishing activities to serve their disciplines, generating surplus revenue to support membership and other activities. Consequently, they have not been subject to the same pressures that have driven subscription rates and publisher profits down in recent years.

This dysfunctional market did not have to occur, however. If the interests of profit-seeking entrepreneurs in publishing, the demands of libraries, and the needs and motivations of scientists had converged differently, there would be no need for third-party sources to provide alternate access to scientific literature. It is possible to reorganize the publishing system to maintain the essential functions of science publishing while eliminating the need for private companies to control it.

Benefits to the Authors

Scientists want their research published because it enables them to build a reputation as scientists, which can lead to other opportunities, such as teaching or collaboration with other scientists. However, they also do it to share their work and allow others to build on their ideas and use them to benefit society.

The workshop participants noted that publishing in a high-profile journal confers prestige and recognition, boosting an author’s job prospects and salary. It can also increase their ability to secure funding for their next project. Moreover, publication can yield financial benefits by creating fruitful new scientific partnerships.

For-profit commercial publishers profit tremendously from their publishing model, as evidenced by the enormous annual profits of companies. They often have large margins and employ first-degree price discrimination to sell their bundles of journals to universities, which can spend up to 90% of their library budget.

Benefits to the Libraries

Scientific publishing creates many benefits for libraries that purchase journal subscriptions to make their contents available to scientists. First, it supports the research community in two ways: it fosters the discovery of new knowledge and encourages scientists to collaborate.

A well-established publication such as Bentham Open can endow a researcher with an extra measure of prestige, which may help them to attract funding or secure tenure at their institution. It can also prompt fruitful commercial overtures for collaboration or consultancy.

In a model where universities are randomly clustered into groups with scientists, find that a profit-maximizing publisher would sell individual subscriptions. Acting in their collective interest, universities should thus agree to purchase site licenses at prices close to the publishers’ average cost.

Benefits to the Society

A fundamental change in scientific publishing must be socially efficient and equitable for the wider community. The current model allows scientists to publish their research, but they are prevented from sharing it in a way that would make it accessible to all. Instead, they have to resort to corrections – which do not bring them much credit and are viewed as an impediment to the work.

Science publishers understood the potential of creating new journals to showcase science as it expanded, bringing in profits from subscriptions sold to universities. 

Scientific societies see themselves as stewards of their field, bringing together researchers to support and advance the study of their subject, providing funding where possible, and promoting their work. Their journal is a natural extension of that work, providing an outlet for their members to report on and promote the latest developments in their area of expertise.

Jane