Open Access Week Thought of the Day #3

Today’s thought is short and to the point. I’ve been repeating it ever since I first heard it a year ago, and I’m going to keep repeating it — this time, in big, bold letters:

“Closed access means people die.”
—Peter Murray-Rust

Not seeing the connection between closed access and death?  Peter Murray-Rust breaks it down: “Simply, closed access publishers make money by restricting access to information.”  And of course: “More and better information leads to better medicine, better health-care, better environment.” So: “The worse the medicine and healthcare, etc. the more people die.”  Therefore, yep: “Closed access means people die.”  Furthermore: “If we want a closed access publishing system then we have to accept that the price is people’s lives.”

Read more about why Peter Murray-Rust is angry.

1 Reply to “Open Access Week Thought of the Day #3”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *