The cost of knowledge

Very interesting discussion on the problems of publishers’ policy (Elsevier is the primary object here, but the same generally applies to many more).  The main objections are these (from the site ‘The Cost of Knowledge‘):

1. They charge exorbitantly high prices for their journals.
2. They sell journals in huge “bundles,” so libraries must buy a large set with many unwanted journals, or none at all. Elsevier thus makes huge profits by exploiting their essential titles, at the expense of other journals.
3. They support measures such as SOPA, PIPA and the Research Works Act, that aim to restrict the free exchange of information.

Here are additional links:

• Tim Gowers’s blog post
• Terry Tao’s blog post
• Several opinions (including my own) on a conflict between universities and Nature Publishing group in TrV newspaper (in Russian)

Update: Elsevier boycott gathers pace