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Subscription Journals Are Doomed Because of Sci-Hub's Big Cache of Pirated Papers, Suggests Data Analyst (sciencemag.org)

Posted by BeauHD on from the beginning-of-the-end dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Science Magazine: There is no doubt that Sci-Hub, the infamous -- and, according to a U.S. court, illegal -- online repository of pirated research papers, is enormously popular. But just how enormous is its repository? That is the question biodata scientist Daniel Himmelstein at the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues recently set out to answer, after an assist from Sci-Hub. Their findings, published in a preprint on the PeerJ journal site on July 20, indicate that Sci-Hub can instantly provide access to more than two-thirds of all scholarly articles, an amount that Himmelstein says is "even higher" than he anticipated. For research papers protected by a paywall, the study found Sci-Hub's reach is greater still, with instant access to 85% of all papers published in subscription journals. For some major publishers, such as Elsevier, more than 97% of their catalog of journal articles is being stored on Sci-Hub's servers -- meaning they can be accessed there for free. In a chat with ScienceInsider, Himmelstein concludes that the results of his study could mark "the beginning of the end" for paywalled research.

3 of 100 comments (clear)

  1. Recently found a publication of mine on Sci-Hub by ffkom · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Just out of curiousity I searched for a (not at all famous) paper I published in the 1990s. Found it on Sci-Hub by just entering a few key words in a search engine - conveniently retrievable.

    I remembered that at some point in time, a state-funded institution did officially archive my paper. But it took me about half an hour to finally find it, buried behind multiple retrieval forms and links, with no chance to find it had I not looked up its entire, exact title before.

    No question, Sci-Hub did the better job of keeping my little contribution to the world's knowledge available to the public.

  2. Re:Opportunity cost by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Different AC.

    I'm in a similar situation, except my university's library doesn't subscribe to all the journals I need, or they have odd restrictions. For example, for some of the major journals in my field, university staff and students can access current and past PDF copies of papers back to around the year 2000 or so. Previously-published papers, even when they're available as PDFs, are not available because it costs more for our university. Thus, I have to go to the paper archives, find the printed journal, find the article, and photocopy it. Insurmountable? Not at all, but why waste 30-60 minutes of my time when I can just copy-paste the DOI into Sci-Hub and get the PDF right away?

    Other papers are in conference proceedings and only available in paper form in libraries in foreign countries. Yes, I can (and have) requested interlibrary loans, or have staff in the foreign library find the paper, scan it, and email it to me (my institution pays for this), but why should this even be necessary? Again, DOI in Sci-Hub and I have a PDF. Done. Same result, a hell of a lot less hassle.

    Don't even get me started on review articles in huge publications that cost a thousand dollars or something for 1,400 pages of content that you don't want and 6 pages that you do, or journals that keep papers from the 1960s and earlier behind paywalls. Journals that charge you $6 to "rent" a paper for 48 hours (no saving, printing, etc.), $15 to be able to save it, and $30 to be able to print it are complete bullshit.

    Gabe Newell of Valve said this about game piracy, and it applies just as well to scientific literature:

    "We think there is a fundamental misconception about piracy. Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem," he said. "If a pirate offers a product anywhere in the world, 24 x 7, purchasable from the convenience of your personal computer, and the legal provider says the product is region-locked, will come to your country 3 months after the US release, and can only be purchased at a brick and mortar store, then the pirate's service is more valuable."

    In this case, Sci-Hub is far more valuable in that it provides what I want, immediately, and in a convenient form. The fact that it costs nothing is secondary.

  3. As a former library worker... good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The dirty secret of the academic publishing world is that it's a enormous scam designed to funnel taxpayers money into the pockets of rich vendors, who have repeatedly failed to do their jobs because they have no competition and act as a monopolistic racket. Let's not even talk about the kickbacks and benefits they give to the people at these public institutions that are supposed to be upholding the public good but are just looking to inflate their budgets and their ego.

    The thing researchers love about sci-hub is that you type in the article name, and you get the article. Imagine that! Something the web search industry figured out 15 years ago has yet to make it into the proprietary morass of vendor locked in library IT systems.... because the academic publishing world is hopelessly corrupt and moribund.

    There is no opportunity for a free market force to come in and force these leeches on the taxpayers to do their fucking jobs properly - and their job is to index and store information after it has been verified by peer review. Nothing more, nothing less. It's not complicated. It's not rocket science and it's not brain surgery.

    Scihub is the best thing that has ever happened to academic publishing. The management and shareholders of Elsevier and the rest of these thieves should be ashamed of themselves. Ripping off the public for decades on end. It's time to stop.