Message from the Chairman

Dear Scholars,

I am both honored and thrilled to address you as the Chairman of Knowledge Barrierless Press.

A question has long perplexed many of us: should knowledge be free, or should it be paid for? Some argue that knowledge ought to be freely accessible, while others believe it should come at a cost. Our stance may appear contradictory at first: we support both paid knowledge and free knowledge. Allow me to explain what we truly mean.

We believe it’s essential to clarify whom we are referring to in each case. When we talk about “paid knowledge,” we mean that contributors should receive fair material compensation for their intellectual labor—a gesture of respect and recognition for the value they create. As for “free knowledge,” we hold that once knowledge is produced, it becomes part of our shared human heritage and should be disseminated without barriers. This reflects respect for knowledge itself. Therefore, we both support “paid knowledge”  and “free knowledge”.

Currently, the dominant models of profit in academic publishing can be broadly divided into two types: the Open Access (OA) model and the subscription model. Simply put, under OA, authors pay a fee to publish, making their work freely available. Under the subscription model, publication is free for authors, but readers or their institutions must pay to access the content. Both models involve substantial financial flows. In our view, neither is inherently superior, as both ultimately charge one party—whether the author or the reader. Interestingly, these two groups often consist of the same people.

Knowledge is a common treasure of humanity. To commodify knowledge is, in a sense, to trade in human dignity. Guided by this conviction, we established Knowledge Barrierless Press. We aim to explore a diversified and sustainable economic model—one that allows academic publishers to cover operational costs without pursuing unlimited profit.

In the past, such an approach might have been unfeasible. But today, thanks to the growing ecosystem of public academic infrastructure—including platforms such as OJS, PubPeer, Sci-Hub, ORCID, and Figshare—it has become possible to operate an academic publishing organization at low cost.

Your attention and support are crucial to our future. We warmly welcome you to join us as an author, reader, reviewer, editorial board member, or donor—and become part of this meaningful endeavor.

Let me reintroduce you to Knowledge Barrierless Press. If you listen closely as you read this letter, you may just hear the sound of transformation stirring across academic publishing.

Lastly, we wish you every success in your research and a fruitful academic journey!

Best regards,

Lucas Lee (Chairman).

Knowledge Barrierless Press.

2025.09.16