BOOKWISE

A few years ago, some citizens and scientists began to question the exhorbitant prices that many prestigious journals now charge for subscriptions. These costs make it prohibitive for most individuals and many libraries to subscribe, thus denying access to research results often funded by taxpayer dollars.  Several “open access” journal sites began publishing online scientific journals which would be free to the public, such as BioMedCentral and  PubMed Central.   The Directory of Open Access Journals links to over 2600 free online journals in all subject areas. 

What issues does this create for those in academe?  Are these online journals acceptable places to publish your articles?   Are these online journal articles suitable sources for your students to cite in their papers?  How do you tell if the article is from an expensive journal or a free online journa?  Are these journals picked up in indexing by the major databases?  How do libraries deal with providing access to these sites?

A recent article in Scientific American Online provides insight:

http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/55131

Comment on open access by clicking on “comments” above.