The Facts: The Economics of Publishing

Comprehensive access to the expanding volume of scholarly materials necessary for research and teaching is at risk. Trends in scholarly publishing, especially commercial publisher business models, limit the ability to maintain the breadth and depth of library collections and reduce exposure to and impact of scholars’ work.

See sections below:

• The Trends
• What You Can Do
• More Information

The Trends

Rising costs and decreasing purchasing power: From 1986 to 2002, the Consumer Price Index rose 64 percent, journal prices rose 227 percent, and book prices rose 75 percent. The typical research library spent 227 percent more on serials in 2002 than in 1986, but the number of titles purchased increased by only 6 percent. In addition, book purchases actually declined by 5 percent.

Increasing volume of information: From 1986 to 2002, the number of journals published increased by 58 percent. During roughly the same period, world-wide production of books increased approximately 50 percent.

Large commercial publisher profits: Science, technology, and medical (STM) publisher profits are in the 20–30 percent range. A "merger effect" has resulted in 20–30 percent price increases after commercial mergers or acquisitions.

These trends are unsustainable. They directly affect the University of California in several ways:

• Library purchases must align cost with value: Collectively, the UC libraries spend about $74 million for scholarly materials. Future purchases must be based not only on quality but also on sustainability, i.e., whether costs are aligned with value. In 2006, the libraries refreshed the principles that guide material selection to make this explicit. To assist in these decisions, the Office of Scholarly Communication in 2004 assembled and analyzed extensive data on journal price, use, and impact. Look up available data by journal title.
• UC must use its market power: Through its libraries, the University must negotiate with publishers to insist that our partnerships with them are economically sustainable.
• UC must create and support experiments with new business models that seek sustainability for all stakeholders: Open-access publishing, and institutional repositories for scholarship are two examples of alternatives for scholarly communication.

What You Can Do

UC faculty author a large percentage of scholarly materials and serve as editors at approximately 15 percent of top-tier journals; individually and collectively, they carry enormous influence.

Here’s what you can do:

• Manage your intellectual property: Retain some copyrights so that your research may be disseminated in alternative forms.
• Use alternative forms of publishing: Consider alternative publications such as UC’s eScholarship Repository and open access journals (e.g. journals at the Public Library of Science).
• Support sustainable scholarly communication: Wield your influence with publishers to encourage them to adopt reasonable copyright and pricing policies. We maintain suggestions and journal data to assist you.

More Information

• Ted Bergstrom's journal pricing page: Ted Bergstrom, Professor of Economics at UC Santa Barbara, maintains this web site about journal pricing.
• An economic analysis of scientific research publishing: Published by the Wellcome Trust, this is one of the most comprehensive analyses of its kind. It concludes that the publishing of scientific research does not operate in the interests of scientists or the public good, but rather is dominated by a commercial market intent on improving its market position.
• Resources at the University of California and elsewhere : Includes links to resources from the UC campuses and other organizations addressing issues in scholarly communication.