LJ: Steps Down the Evolutionary Road | Periodicals Price Survey 2014
“The birth of the World Wide Web 25 years ago was the big bang event that spurred more change in the serials and scholarly publishing world than seen in the century that preceded it. Since that time, we have rapidly evolved from the print world to that of e-journals, e-journal packages, and open access (OA). But in the serials ecosystem, as in nature, not all things evolve at the same rate, and the cumulative impact of subtle steps can bring about profound change over time.
Despite some notable events, such as the purchase of Mendeley by Elsevier, the sale of Springer to BC Partners, and the launch of SCOAP 3, there was no major disruption in the serials world during 2013.
NOT FULLY RECOVERED
The overall economic news appears positive, but if the broad figures are closely scrutinized, public funding and spending in libraries have not yet recovered to 2008 levels adjusted for inflation or population growth. According to reports from the National Association of State Budget Officers, overall state spending decreased in 2012 for the first time in the 26 years that this group has been gathering budget data. Overall in 2013 and 2014, total general fund expenditures for all states will exceed the prerecession high of $687 billion, with spending in 2013 reported as $696 billion and spending in 2014 projected to be $722 billion. However, if these figures are adjusted for U.S. population growth, 304 million to 316 million, and inflation, which averaged 1.6% per year, current spending still falls well below 2008 levels. Funding for K-12 education has seen some relief, as a total of $8.8 billion was added to state budgets in 2014, and higher education also saw a healthy increase of $3.6 billion, but these increases also do not bring budgets up to the prerecession level of 2008 spending.”
Lots of charts.
Stephen
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