Scientific communication and the open access movement in scholarly publishing

Abstract

The open access movement acceptance by the scientific community has met many barriers. It is argued that understanding the processes of legitimation and legitimacy is essential to the issue. Bringing forward some definition by scholars on the subject of legitimation and legitimacy, the article tries to show how the periodical crisis of the 80's triggered the processes of acceptance of the electronic periodical. The open access movement followed, and today it is currently trying to overcome barriers of prejudice and vested interests. It concludes by noting the strengthening of the concept of the necessity of peer review, but also the maturing of the movement, today less utopian and more realistic. It recognizes the role of the publishers and of segments of the scientific communities as the main forces in shaping scientific communication system and allowing advances of the open access channels towards legitimacy.