Though I’m no longer affiliated with any academic institution that provides access to a variety of scholarly/academic journals, I’m still a curious pseudointellectual capable of AND interested in reading a variety of academic journals. What I can’t do is pay $36.00 for access to an individual journal article. Or $167.00 for permanent access to an issue.
Good thing we have public libraries. (I’ll let you see if your local public library has access to this journal article, either online or in print.)
___ Yes
___ No
And good thing alumni status affords people the opportunity to view such articles. (I’ll let you see if your university/college has access to this journal article, either online or in print.)
___ Yes
___ Yes ( with restrictions )
___ No
My conclusion is simple. I’m screwed, if I want to go about acquiring information legally. Furthermore, I’m not sure the Open Access movement can compete against the entrenched publishing giants and aggregators without some serious support from libraries and governments throughout the world.
For the record, I’d totally pay a dollar or two for that article – directly to the writer(s). Now I’ll have to exercise my creativity. Again.