SUFB 734: University Of California System Ends Giant Schorlarly Journal Contract

Nick Wehner joins me on the podcast today to discuss some huge news from the ongoing world of Pay Wall Journals vs Open Access Journals. The University of California has officially ended its contract with the publisher Elsevier, which was worth $11 million. UC said it was ending the contract to continue its pursuit of more available Open Access documents. 

A whopping 70% of Marine Conservation Managers do not have access to scientific journals that can provide the managers with informed decisions based on the most recent science and conservation studies. The expense for the yearly subscriptions for the journals is way out of the budget for most managers, small universities, and some state/provincial governments.

Controlling access to the information in the journals defeats the purpose of science, which is to share data with the world. The paywall journals make hundreds of millions of dollars per year on subscriptions to scientific studies without paying the scientists who pay to produce the material.

Do you think the UC deal will affect the paywall journal business model in the near future? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group.

Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.