Scientific & Technical Publishing Market Flat in 2016; Growth Hovers Amid Uncertainty

Once a fast growing, predictable and inflation-proof market, scientific and technical publishing is now mostly flat and increasingly subject to rules imposed by research funders to make articles and data available for free — this according to the most recent report from Simba Information, a leader in media and publishing intelligence. The report, Global Scientific & Technical Publishing 2017-2021, found that the market fell 1.7% overall in 2016 and was estimated to be essentially flat at constant currency. This performance is an improvement from the 9.2% decline experienced in 2015, a year when all major currencies fell sharply against the U.S. dollar shrinking the market when measured in dollars. “Globally, the market has been flat since 2010,” said Dan Strempel, senior analyst business and professional, Simba Information. “A lot of that can be traced to the recession and budget pressures, but this is also the time when research funders started to strengthen open access publishing mandates. The business that is now trying to emerge and grow is not the same one that was pulled down by the recession.” For years, libraries accommodated the growing cost of journals and online materials by shifting their limited budget spending away from books. That cupboard is mostly bare, but prices continue to grow faster than library budgets. Many of the largest customers are now pushing back on price increases and cancelling subscriptions — or at least driving tough negotiat...
Source: News from STM - Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Tags: Featured World Source Type: news