Sometimes they are even higher. These margins are matched only in luxury areas such as fine jewelry, yachts, and expensive cars or by monopolies like Microsoft. More Information Scholars are losing control of a system that should be theirs and theirs alone. Scholars create scholarly communication and assure its quality. They and their students consume it.
Publishers manage production, and they and libraries manage distribution.
Though publishers add important value in the process, they should not control the system. And yet, chiefly through their pricing and copyright policies, publishers are now in control. The system is fragile. See more . Paying more for scholarly communication does not mean that you get more.