Presenter NamePresenter NamePresenter InstitutionPresenter Institution

ACRL Scholarly Communication 101: ACRL Scholarly Communication 101: Starting with the BasicsStarting with the Basics

EconomicsEconomics

Pure and applied research communitiesGrants and funding agenciesUniversities and research centersMarketplace where info is sold/licensedLegal systems Public advocacy movementsGlobal information network

Macroeconomics of the SC system

peer-reviewed articles per yearpeer-reviewed articles per year

peer-reviewed journalspeer-reviewed journals

scholarly publishers (est.)scholarly publishers (est.)

societies & other non-

profits

university presses

commercial publishers

Journal publisher size guideJournal publisher size guide

Petite (5 or fewer) 54%Small (6-10) 11%Medium (11-25) 16%Large (26-50) 8%X-Large (51-100) 4%XX-Large (100+) 7%

Scholarly publishing practice: academic journal publishers’ policies and practices in online publishing, 3rd survey, ALPSP, 2008

revenue in 2006revenue in 2006revenue in 2006revenue in 2006

STM sector

Dat

a f

rom

Out

sell’

s 2

006

ST

M m

ark

et

repo

rtD

ata

fro

m O

utse

ll’s

200

6 S

TM

ma

rke

t re

port

Data from Outsell’s 2006 STM market reportData from Outsell’s 2006 STM market report

Else

vier

Kluw

er H

ealth

Sprin

ger

Amer

Che

m S

oc

John

Wile

y

Blac

kwel

l

mer

ged

with

Wile

y 20

07

othe

r 1,1

95 p

ublis

hers

Dysfunction rooted in

problematic economic model

Steelmakers Auto manufacturers Consumers

Steel

$$$$

Cars

$$$$

normal economynormal economy

Author Library

JournalArticle

Publisher$$$$

gift economygift economy

P&TGrantsReputationPrestige

Publisher

IP

wholesale transfer of rightswholesale transfer of rights

creates scarcity/monopolycreates scarcity/monopoly

drives prices updrives prices up(inelastic market)(inelastic market)

Average serial Average serial price up 227%price up 227%Average serial Average serial price up 227%price up 227%

Average book Average book price up 65%price up 65%Average book Average book price up 65%price up 65%

CPI up 57%CPI up 57%CPI up 57%CPI up 57%

The result:

Libraries challenge Libraries challenge pricing power pricing power

Libraries challenge Libraries challenge pricing power pricing power

Publishers try to Publishers try to sustain revenue flow sustain revenue flow

Tying print to onlineTying print to onlineBundling journalsBundling journalsRequiring multi-yr contractsRequiring multi-yr contractsBuying other publishersBuying other publishersRaising pricesRaising prices

Subsidizing journal start-ups Subsidizing journal start-ups Canceling journalsCanceling journals

Cutting book purchasesCutting book purchasesForming consortiaForming consortiaFighting mergersFighting mergers

Roger Clarke, The cost profiles of alternative approaches to journal publishing, First Monday, 3 December 2007

Roger Clarke, The cost profiles of alternative approaches to journal publishing, First Monday, 3 December 2007

cost to produce one journal articlecost to produce one journal article

Average journal article

XYZ Commercial Publisher

Amsterdam, London, New York

My Facuty, PhD

Average journal article

ABC Not-for- Profit Publisher

My Facuty, PhD

9% $

91%dollars

62%citations

38%citations

Economics of quality?Economics of quality?

From Outsell’s Open Access Primer (Public Version), December 2009

U.S. Library Spending, R&D Spending, and Journals 1995-2007

External Economic Pressures on Journals Market

Scholarly communications reform

includes efforts to establish balanced,

sustainable economic models

AuthorFree to all readers

JournalArticlePublisher

Open AccessOpen Access

• Grant/Research Foundation funding

• Subsidy: Author/Institution/Library pays

• Subscription to non-research content

• Advertising

Article

(full)(full)(hybrid)(hybrid)

Outsell estimates of OA as of April 2009:Outsell estimates of OA as of April 2009:

• OA articles 9.8% of articles

• 3.1% of market

• Growing 11.3% per year

Competitive economic modelsCompetitive economic models

• Open Journals System

• Scholarly Exchange

• Open Humanities Press

LibraryHEP

JournalsPublisher

SCOAP3 transition modelSCOAP3 transition model

$$

SCOAP3 Governing

Board manages bidding process and pricing with

publishers

$$

Free to all readers

Authors

A crisis is a terrible thing to waste

three things to think about

Long-term solution may include shifting of library funds from collecting to producing or subsidizing

scholarly content

Outsell, a market intelligence service, says

“access-based models will not last.” Content is no longer king in the STM information business.

Lee C. Van OrsdelLee C. Van OrsdelGrand Valley State UniversityGrand Valley State University

Questions?Questions?Comments?Comments?

This work was created by Lee Van Orsdel for the ACRL National Conference, Scholarly Communications 101 Workshop and last

updated October 14, 2010.

Acknowledgement:Slide 21 was revised by Kimberly Douglas (Caltech) and included in the

Oct. 14, 2010 version.

It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/