Re: Reed Elsevier results

[Ken Masters <kmasters@ithealthed.com>]

Hi All

Increased profits from commercial publishers do not in any way 
negate a statement that OA has massive growth.  There could be 
many reasons that Reed Elsevier has increased its profits.

Reducing costs is one way to increase profits (This is discussed 
in the article).  Increasing prices of publications and big deal 
contracts is another.  This does not appear to be mentioned in 
the article, but those of you who deal with library budgets can 
comment on that.

Still it's nice to know that, in the midst of a world financial 
crisis (where education institutions and libraries are being 
forced to lay off staff, cut services, reduce operating hours, 
etc., because of massive financial cuts)  companies that supply 
publications to those same institutions are able to make such 
impressive profits from those institutions.  I'm sure many 
librarians sleep more easily at night knowing this.

Regards

Ken

Dr. Ken Masters
Asst. Professor: Medical Informatics
Medical Education Unit
College of Medicine & Health Sciences
Sultan Qaboos University
Sultanate of Oman



On 29 July 2011 01:43, Joseph Esposito <espositoj@gmail.com> wrote:

> Here is a financial analysis of Reed Elsevier's recent
> performance:
>
>
> http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/4191921/Reed-Elsevier-improves-as-margins-grow.html
>
> The results are good.  Specifically cited in the report is the
> strength in subscription revenues.
>
> Although this list regularly receives missives about "the
> dramatic growth of open access" and the death of the Big Deal,
> when you actually look at the facts, the environment seems mostly
> unchanged.
>
> Joe Esposito