Open Access: Challenges for the future of academic publishing

The fusion of the digital world with open access created a totally new way of publishing academic journals. Digitization was less costly than publishing in paper and digital papers were instantly distributed worldwide as soon as they went online. Open access did exactly what it says, it let everyone have access as long as they were hooked into the digital world. At least that was the theory. In fact, the cost of digital publishing varies considerably and usually shifts the cost from the institution to the author, the idea of ‘instant publication’ can be hard to achieve, and the concept of open access has been hijacked and misinterpreted to become whatever the user desires to make a buck. Nevertheless, the concepts involved in Open Access publication are sweeping through the world of academia, transforming how information is moved from the laboratory and field to our colleagues and the general public to an extent that is breathtaking in its scope, provides new ways to inform the public, and creates the basis for a truly open information commons. As entomologists, we need to take our part in this revolution - we cannot afford not to.