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Drawing upon Wolfgang Klein’s concerns from 1989 about the overwhelming pace of academic publications and its shrinking readership, this commentary proposes strengthening local academic publishers to mitigate the impact of “academic fast fashion” – an ensuing phenomenon within the market-oriented academic landscape characterized by the rapid production, consumption, and disposal of scientific knowledge. By reflecting on our experience of establishing and maintaining local academic journals in Southern Luzon, Philippines, I illustrate the challenges that can be faced in this endeavor. I argue that if given proper support by appropriate academic infrastructures, local academic publishing can tap into a diverse audience to distill competition in readership apparent in today’s globally-oriented academic landscape while simultaneously cultivating local knowledge economies. Opening academic discourse to unconventional readers through local academic publications can thus fulfill Klein’s vision for a more inclusive advancement of knowledge.
