Enclosure of the Knowledge Commons.

Much like the enclosure of the commons lands that occurred in England from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, the knowledge commons created by academic libraries is in the process of enclosure. The knowledge produced at universities can be considered a public good and the academic library functions as a commons to the university's constituents. Commons are often susceptible to exploitation and the academic library is no exception. Academic publishers, librarians, and scholars are all exploiting the academic commons in pursuit of their own self-interests. However, open access initiatives have the potential to address some of the structural problems in the scholarly publishing model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]