New Report Calls for "Radical Reform" to Ensure the Sustainability of Academic Publishing

A new report from Cambridge University Press highlights that scholarly publishing faces grave challenges in the form of pervasive threats to research integrity, increasing costs, inequality, and flaws inherent in the research incentive system. Based on a survey of over 3,000 librarians, publishing representatives, and researchers, the report began as an investigation into barriers to the transition to open access, but the findings highlighted deeper problems inherent in the ecosystem. The report found that while 86% of respondents express support for open access publishing, only 32% believe the current system can meet future challenges

The authors call for urgent action to address these challenges, including a reform of research assessment and incentives, better support for peer review and reviewers, support for alternative publishing platforms like preprint servers, and efforts to make open access for equitable for all, including researchers in low- to middle-income countries. They suggest that these problems can only be effectively addressed through collaboration across the community, with support from institutions, funders, and publishers.

The full report, entitled "Publishing Futures: Working Together to Deliver Radical Change in Academic Publishing," is available on the Cambridge University Press website.