Society Publishing Is Losing

UK society publishers are fewer, poorer, and weaker thanks to OA

A new study of UK society publishing finds that since 2015, there has been a rapid decline in the number of self-published societies, their publishing revenues, and their influence.

Nicely titled, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone: the changing landscape of UK learned society publishing,” the study serves as another sobering reminder that OA publishing has accrued to the benefit of large-scale commercial interests, decimating the subscription model that made society publishing vital for so long.

As the authors write, “the shift toward open access and the growing dominance of large commercial publishers has called into question the future role of societies in publishing.”

Grim, but neither shocking nor surprising. And another domino fell as if on cue.

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