In an effort to allow greater access to research, Cornell University Library and the Office of the Provost announced on Sept. 1 that they have established a $50,000 fund to help Cornell faculty and student researchers pay publication fees for open-access journals.
In the traditional model of scholarly publishing, the cost of publishing is paid for mainly through subscription fees, which inevitably pose a barrier to access. Open-access publishing is an alternative model that makes its materials free for everyone. To cover the cost of publishing, however, certain open-access journals have to rely on charging authors publication fees.