The Wikipedia Library and Open Access: A Decade of Gains and Losses in a Paywalled World
By
Jake Orlowitz
Summary
The article reflects on the decade-long journey of The Wikipedia Library, a program that provides Wikipedia editors with access to paywalled academic sources. It explores the tensions between the open access movement and commercial publishers like Elsevier, examining what was gained and lost in the struggle for free access to scholarly knowledge. The author recounts founding the program in 2015, the controversy it sparked among open access advocates who saw partnering with Elsevier as problematic, and the broader evolution of open access over the past decade.
Source
bskyThe Wikipedia Library and Open Access: A Decade of Gains and Losses in a Paywalled Worldmedium.comKey quotes
· 3 pulledIn September 2015, I set off a small war between two groups of people who agreed about almost everything.
Elsevier, the Dutch publishing giant that open access advocates regard as the industry's defining villain, announced it had donated 45 ScienceDirect accounts to top Wikipedia editors through a program I founded called The Wikipedia Library.
What the Wikipedia Library and the Open Access movement won and what they lost over a decade in a paywalled world
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