As Don and Anthony write in Wikinomics, a new age for science is around the corner. The ability to quickly and seamlessly share information and collaborate online allows scientists to eliminate many of the inefficiencies associated with research. However, scientific knowledge is not disseminated freely due to the barriers posed by high subscription costs of many scientific journals. The serial crisis, as it is called, leads to libraries spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to get access to the latest research. As an example, a library subscription to the journal Brain Research costs over $20 000 as does a subscription to the Journal of Applied Polymer Science.

The problem is exasperated by the growth in academic fields and the ‘publish or perish’ mantra of the academic world. It doesn’t help that the publishing industry is dominated by a few large companies each owning multiple journal titles. This allows them to freely set prices, which have been rising fast in recent times. Publishers contend that they ensure a rigorous, and costly, peer review process is in place to control quality. However, as the Wikipedia model shows, peer review can work in an open and free environment.

Efforts, such as the Public Library of Science, strive to overcome this problem by creating a library of free-access journals. Harvard has joined the movement by electing to post research from the arts and science faculty on the Internet for free. While this decision is important due to Harvard’s size and prestige, the publishing industry is unlikely to give up their lucrative model anytime soon. However, it does seem that the power to change things is in the hands of university faculties who ultimately will benefit from a more open academic environment.