The Library has acquired rights to stream the documentary, Paywall: The Business of Scholarship. The film is about the costs, pains, and business of scholarly publishing. This is an important movie for those who want to understand how valuable information is hidden behind high-cost and seemingly free information. A critical article in Nature (Sep 2018) about the film, sums it up:
The film makes a convincing case that the paywall system creates problems — and that universal open access (OA) to scholarly articles would be better for society. But it fails to adequately explore the thorny challenges that arise with OA publishing.
Though this film may not fully address the problems with OA, it is an eye-opening look at the publishing industry and how it affects researchers and libraries.
You may view the film here. (run-time: approx. 1hr). The Library will host a live screening with our Scholarly Communications librarian. We’ll keep you posted.