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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/20/exorbitant-fees-paid-to-academic-publishers-better-spent-on-research-and-education>
"Australia’s public research institutions are paying $1bn a year to giant
academic publishers, new research shows, amid growing calls for taxpayer money
to be redirected away from private enterprises.
The Australia Institute report, released on Wednesday, questioned if more
public money should be used for research and education instead of being
directed to international academic publishers.
Academic publishes are among the most profitable businesses in the world –
raking in massive profit margins approaching 40% – in line with Google and
Apple.
The market is dominated by five major houses – Elsevier, Wiley-Blackwell,
Taylor & Francis, Springer Nature and SAGE Publications – and rakes in billions
of dollars a year.
The report found Australia’s research institutions and universities spent $300m
on journal subscriptions annually, totalling $1bn when additional fees and
publication charges were added.
The “exorbitant” fees are charged to institutions and research groups in order
to access research that the public largely funds, the report said. One-off
access for a single article costs about $50.
Dr Kristen Scicluna, a postdoctoral research fellow and author of the report,
said research was being “hamstrung” without appropriate funding and money could
be better directed elsewhere.
“This amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars every year – much of it public
money – spent on publication and subscription, not research and discovery,” she
said."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
