What is an Academic Journal?Why is Market Power important to think about?How Does Academic Publishing Work?The market does not serve the interests of the publicSubscription Prices are OutrageousA ComparisonWhy are prices so high?Why do commercial publishers have market power?How do publishers use market power to increase profits?SolutionsThe Public Library of ScienceBenefits of the PLoSProblems with PLoSMarket Powerin theAcademic PublishingIndustryWhat is an Academic Journal?• A serial publication containing recent academic papers in a certain field.• The main method for communicating the results of recent research in the academic community.Why is Market Power important to think about?• Commercial academic journal publishers use market power to artificially inflate subscription prices.• This practice drains the resources of libraries, to the detriment of the public.How Does Academic Publishing Work?• Author writes paper and submits to journal.• Paper is evaluated by peer reviewers (other researchers in the field).• If accepted, the paper is published.• Libraries pay for subscriptions to the journal.The market does not serve the interests of the public• Universities are forced to “double-pay”.1. The university funds research2. The results of the research are given away for free to journal publishers3. The university library must pay to get the research back in the form of journalsSubscription Prices are Outrageous• The highest-priced journals are those in the fields of science, technology, and medicine (or STM fields).• Since 1985, the average price of a journal has risen more than 215 percent—four times the average rate of inflation.• This rise in prices, combined with the CA budget crisis, has caused UC Berkeley’s library to cancel many subscriptions, threatening the library’s reputation.A ComparisonWhy are prices so high?Commercial publishers use market power to charge inflated prices.Why do commercial publishers have market power?• They control the most prestigious, high-quality journals in many fields.• Demand is highly inelastic for high-quality journals.• Barriers to entry• Many mergers in the industryHow do publishers use market power to increase profits?• Bundling and “The Big Deal”• Marginalization of non-profit journals• Manipulation of online database search enginesSolutions• Author awareness & boycotts• Library market power• Open access publishing onlineThe Public Library of Science•www.plos.org• An online collection of academic journals.• Free access to all papers for anyone with an Internet connection.• The catch: a publication fee is charged to the author if his or her paper is selected for inclusion in the journal.Benefits of the PLoS• Open access to information for all of the public• Authors benefit from wide dissemination and availability of their work• Less costs for libraries and taxpayers• Immediate publishing is possibleProblems with PLoS•Quality•