Letter to the Editor: Publishing for Part-Time and Retired Faculty

Responding to “The Steep Price of Free Science Access,” by Robert Rosner, April 2024

The evolution of publishing toward open access models described in Robert Rosner’s April 2024 Back Page threatens to further disenfranchise two groups within our community who have historically tended to suffer from limited access to grant or institutional funding: part-time and retired faculty. Part-timers who are seeking full-time positions will be looking to publish in reputable journals to bolster their credentials, while retirees often wish to remain active and can have much to contribute based on their years of experience.

At present, options for hybrid/subscription-based publication help to address this disparity, but I anticipate that financial considerations will inevitably drive the trend to an exclusively pay-to-play environment. That APS is helping to subsidize publishing costs for scientists in less privileged countries is worthy and laudable, but let us not forget that many in first-world settings are by no means competing on a level field.

— Cameron Reed (Nova Scotia)

The views expressed in interviews and in opinion pieces, like the Opinion page, are not necessarily those of APS. APS News welcomes letters responding to these and other issues.