David Mort, STM Publshing Provides A Safe Haven in Choppy Waters, Research Information, November/December 2004. Excerpt: 'Scientific publishers and vendors continue to post double-digit profit margins, even though the industry as a whole is only experiencing low single-digit margins overall. STM information sales are also healthy and employment levels are high in contrast to the wider information industry, which is seeing falling sales and shedding employees....While users may view these high profits with some concern, given the tight budgets in many sectors and price rises for STM information, the good news is that many companies are utilising these healthy profits to invest in new product developments and new technologies.' (PS: This is as close as Mort comes to mentioning the harm caused by high and rising journal prices. His rosy forecast does not mention open access, scientists, or libraries.)
Posted by
Peter Suber at 12/14/2004 01:11:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
