Covid-19 Survey: Initial Results
How has scholarly communications responded? Carefully and cautiously, it appears
Yesterday, I posted a survey to gauge how the Covid-19 pandemic — and the attendant economic fallout — may be affecting scholarly communications. The initial responses have come from organizations including commercial publishers, libraries, technology providers, society publishers, university presses, and others. It’s a good start.
Here are some top-line results, based on responses so far:
- What date did your organization officially change policies based on the Covid-19 pandemic? Only a handful of organizations changed policies based on Covid-19 in January, a few more in February, with the bulk of new policies coming throughout March. The biggest pig in the snake is visible in mid-March. Some organizations are still responding to the pandemic, with more than a handful listing yesterday as the date new policies went into effect.
- Layoffs, furloughs, and contractors. Just over 2% of respondents said their organizations have had layoffs, while just north of 10% said employees have been furloughed. About 5% of respondents said contractors had been laid off or released.
- Major meetings canceled. Nearly 77% of respondents said their organizations have canceled major meetings due to Covid-19, a potentially major hit to the bottom line.
- Changes in manuscript volume. Since Covid-19, 36% of respondents said manuscript submissions have increased, 32% said they have stayed about the same, and 10% said they have decreased. About 22% of respondents didn’t know yet.
- How are organizations doing? Respondents gave their organizations generally high marks for their responses so far, with an aggregate score of 82 out of 100 possible points. The range was broad, however, from a low rating of 7 to a high of 100.
- Are people afraid they might lose their jobs? About 4% indicated they are quite worried, while another 32% said they are a little worried. Another 35% are ambivalent (“not necessarily” was how the choice was worded), while 30% are “feeling secure.”
The survey is still open, and you can respond by clicking below. Please respond today, if you want to be included. I’ll publish the final results later this week.
Thank you.