The Robber Barons of Academic Publishing
Truth from George Monbiot: http://www.monbiot.com/2011/08/29/the-lairds-of-learning/
My own particular beef in this area, in addition to all those he has articulated so nicely, is online journal subscriptions. If a university subscribes to a paper journal for 20 years, then quits the subscription, it has an archive of 20 years worth of journals in paper form that researchers can still draw on. But if it subscribes electronically for 20 years, then quits, it has nuthin’. Electronic is cheaper for publishers but more expensive to buy. It’s more convenient for researchers: I seldom set foot in the physical library any more, just the virtual one. But the costs are astronomical and rising without restraint.