ALPSP announces the publication of Scholarly Book Publishing Practice Report

["Lesley Ogg \(ALPSP\)" <events@alpsp.org>]

10 March 2010, London

ALPSP has published the Scholarly Book Publishing Practice 
Report, the findings of a survey of academic book publishers' 
policies and practices, authored by Laura Cox and John Cox.

Scholarly Book Publishing Practice is the first ALPSP survey 
undertaken to establish current practices in scholarly book and 
e-book publishing, to provide detailed analysis and statistics in 
this growing market.  This report develops a picture of the 
market as it emerges and is a starting point for further research 
into how publishers are treating this rapidly developing arena. 
A survey was conducted of 400 publishers, both commercial and 
non-profit, consisting of ALPSP and other major association 
members.  A response rate of over 60% was achieved including most 
major academic book publishers.

The publishers surveyed publish over 24,000 new titles each year. 
The collective backlist comprises nearly 350,000 academic and 
scholarly titles, covering reference, monographs, textbooks, 
conference reports, professional handbooks and manuals, and 
research reports.  63.2% of publishers publish e-books in one way 
or another, but they still account for a fairly small proportion 
of total book sales, with the average across all publishers at 
just 9.4%.

Findings of the report cover the following topics:

- The size and scope of scholarly book and e-book publishing
- Printing technologies
- Sales channels
- Digital file creation
- E-book functionality
- Services to libraries
- Licensing terms and conditions
- Pricing and business models
- E-book bundles and collections
- Perpetual access and preservation
- Authors' rights
- Securing publishing rights
- E-book revenue development
- Publishers concerns the e-book market

The full report provides a vast array of evidence about the 
current policies and practices of scholarly and academic book 
publishers.  This report will act as a starting point for further 
research in mapping the practices of publishers as the e-book 
market continues to mature. It is hoped that it will provide 
clarity on a complex area which involves man more variables and 
permutations than is seen in the more homogenous online journal 
market.

For further information please go to:
http://www.alpsp.org/ngen_public/default.asp?ID=201

A session on Scholarly Book Publishing Practice - the ALPSP 
survey findings will be presented at the forthcoming ALPSP 
seminar: The Future of Academic Book Publishing, Thursday 18 
March 2010 British Institute of Radiology, 36 Portland Place, 
London W1N 4AT Further information is available at: 
http://bit.ly/bVYXuk

For further information on this summary and the full report 
contact:

Nick Evans, Chief Operating Officer, ALPSP: nick.evans@alpsp.org 
Laura Cox, Frontline GMS Ltd: laura.cox@frontlinegms.com

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Lesley Ogg
Senior Coordinator, Events & Information Systems
Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers
E: events@alpsp.org