I recently read an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (March 4, 2012) which shared the story of an individual who forwarded to her students a publishing opportunity.  She probably wouldn’t have done this if she hadn’t recognized some friends and colleagues on the editorial board of a journal of which she had never heard.

This scenario is certainly not uncommon and it is important for authors to realize that while open access is a good thing, there do exist unscrupulous publishers whose main objectives are to publish as many papers as possible in order to collect article processing fees and cut costs such as minimizing the peer-reviewed process.  It is unfortunate that these publishers often publish without complete author approval, placing this individual in a very awkward position.

 If any MSK author is unsure about a publisher’s solicitation, then please contact your reference librarian or Donna Gibson, Director of Library Services, so that we can explore on your behalf the validity of the opportunity.  At the very least, the publisher that reaches out to our authors should be a member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA) and/or adhere to the association’s code of conduct.

Individuals such as Jeffrey Beall (Librarian at the University of Colorado at Denver), is making a difference and helping both authors and librarians out by providing a starting point to understanding who these disreputable Open Access publishers are. Check out the running list of predatory open-access publishers.   You might be surprised who made the list!

Donna Gibson
Director of Library Services