Read all about it: academic publishing is changing faster than anyone has realised, according to a new study reported today in BMC Medicine.

Before 2000 the vast majority of research papers were published in journals that could only be read by academics if they - or their university libraries - paid a subscription. But since the turn of the millennium, the growth of the world wide web has been accompanied by the emergence of open access publishing, by which research papers are made freely available online. According to results published today by Laasko and Björk, over half of all research papers may now be available through open access.

The academic publishing game has changed irrevocably.

The change does not mean that academics have embraced the free-for-all file-sharing mentality that is the bug-bear of the music business. Rather it reflects the deep-seated amateur ethos of scholars, who have always seen the work of producing and reviewing their research findings as an intrinsic part of the job.

While the dissemination of that research relied on the printing and distribution of academic journals, the publishers’ subscription model was a sensible way to manage this business. But the opportunities provided by the web for instant distribution has fused […]