There are many things in the news this week:  MJ passed away, of course (sad for his family, but I have never been a big fan, and even if I were, how much would it have affected me?).  Stonewall riot anniversary, and we must be mindful of history, but again I do not feel a strong connection to those events.

So, what’s been on my mind?  Well, commercial publishers exploiting scientists, in particular computer scientists.  I am often frustrated when I cannot get hold of a scientific paper.  Until now I have silently blamed our library for not subscribing to the publishers’ full service, but I have not really thought about it much.  This is a serious business, because it hampers the development of science.  The whole idea is that science builds on the works of other scientists, and it is important for all scientists to access to all science.  I’m sure that this has not prevented me personally from publishing great work, but the cumulative effect and the time wasted is significant.  Even more importantly, is the principle that is at stake.  Who owns the science?  Humanity is supposed to.  If this sounds trite, just try to think what your life would be like without science.

With the first version of the internet nearing maturity, the reproduction costs of scientific papers is tending lower and lower, so why are the publishing houses charging so much for “their” libraries?  Well, because they can.  But not for long.  I am sure that in about ten years, the situation will be very different.  I am skeptical that there will still be paper journals in 20 years’ time, and I even wonder about conferences.  Online journals allow for faster dissemination of results, which is one of the main arguments for conferences.  I must admit, however, that I will miss conferences when they are gone.  They also offer other benefits such as the opportunity to meet other people working in the same field and to have face-to-face discussion.  I have always found the conferences I attended very inspiring, and I suspect that other people feel the same way.  Yes, perhaps conferences will remain, although vastly reduced in number.

As far as it is reasonable, I will from now on try to send me results to open-access journals.  There are many (see http://www.doaj.org/), and I think that many of them are good, with high standards for reviewing.  I’m sure I’m not going to the publishers’ backs by myself, but eventually they will be broken.