Reviewing papers in hybrid journals

Since 2018, I no longer review manuscripts that are under consideration for publication in hybrid journals. Hybrid journals (where a subscription-based journal charges the author an extra amount to make their article open access) have become increasingly popular in the last few years as a way for journals to meet open access mandates.

However, rather than being a temporary measure, these charges are currently part of the mainstream publishing process. These extra OA charges lead to accusations of ‘double dipping’, where academics are paying twice: first for the library to subscribe, second for the author to publish. Some publishers provide offsetting agreements to give authors discount on these charges, but these agreements simply further lock-in traditional publishing methods.

By agreeing to review for hybrid journals, I believe I would be implicitly reinforcing the hybrid model of publication. I therefore now only review for open access journals.