All that glitters is not Gold.

Open access makes research openly available to readers, but if openness comes with a huge price tag, is that progress? Who ultimately pays?

This week, as part of Open Access Week, we hosted All that glitters is not Gold: A case for Diamond Open Access, exploring some of the tensions at the heart of scholarly publishing.

The session was a great reminder that the cost of knowledge isn’t just about who pays to publish or read research. It’s far more nuanced. It’s also about the time and labour behind editing, peer review and keeping journals running. Much of that work is done by academics, often unpaid and often within a commercialised system, motivated by career benefits and the expectations of being part of the research community.

Diamond Open Access journals are free to read and publish in, but it doesn’t mean publishing is cost-free. These journals still need people, skills, time and resources. We need to recognise and value that work and find ways to support the journals doing things differently. That means looking at where we publish, where we contribute our time and expertise, and how we can help scholar-led journals thrive.

Watch the webinar recording here. 

Image from the Noun Project, royalty free licence.