Category Archives: publishing

SpringerLink for Android

Springer, which launched SpringerLink via iTunes at the beginning of 2012, has now released an Android version of the app via Google Play.

SpringerLink allows librarians, scientists, researchers and students to access content anytime/anywhere and reflects the increasingly mobile nature of research and content access. 

Springer has also improved the functionality of the apps by updating the user interface and creating more intuitive search options.

For more information see the Springer website.

SAGE reports growth in 2012 Citation Reports®

Academic and professional publisher SAGE (which publishes BIR) has reported a strong performance in the 2012 Journal Citation Reports® (Thomson Reuters, 2013)

An additional 30 indexed titles this year brings the total number of SAGE titles indexed in the Social Science and Science Citation Indexes to 461.  102 of the titles are ranked in the top ten of their category.

For more information see the original press release.

Elsevier to improve mobile capability

STM publisher Elsevier is to invest in a new online platform – Smart Content – to improve mobile capability for more than 500 of its health, medical and life science websites.

The platform will offer improved search accuracy and high quality readability for mobile devices. The content will be semantically tagged to help with automated or curated topic collections.

For more information, see the original Elsevier press release.

The Financial Times launches ‘Fast FT’

The Financial Times has launched a new ‘bite-sized news’ section of its website.

Fast FT, which also has its own Twitter account, will provide rolling business news and expert commentary in short articles (up to 250 words long) and is designed to meet the needs of increasingly mobile readers.

You can read more about the launch at The Guardian and see screen shots via PaidContent.

Pearson reveals mobile traffic statistics

According to Pearson’s 2012 annual report, 30% of FT.com’s traffic is coming via mobile devices – including 15% of new subscriptions.

Pearson has continued to invest in mobile technology, including the launch of a Windows 8 app.  The Financial Times passed the 50% digital subscriptions milestone in 2012.

Penguin e-books accounted for 17% of global book revenues (up from 12% in 2011).

Source: The Appside

Journals price projections for 2013

Every year, EBSCO publishes a report which aims to help information professionals make budgeting decisions and plans.  Based on historical pricing data and publisher surveys, the report sets out trends and predictions for serials publishing for the year ahead.

This year, the survey predicts:

  • Overall price increases of 5-7%
  • Increases in library budgets will not match this rise
  • Libraries will continue to ‘prune’ content purchases 
  • Increasing use and importance of usage analytics to inform purchasing decisions
  • OA movement gaining momentum
  • More exploration of alternative purchasing methods

 More information.

Businesss Information publishers feature on Top 50 list

Business Information publishers feature strongly on the latest list of the world’s top 50 digital content companies, as compiled by PaidContent.
Bloomberg appear in 4th place, followed by  Reed Elsevier (5th), Thomson Reuters (8th), Pearson (13th), Dun & Bradstreet (23rd), Wolters Kluwer (29th) and Informa (47th).  Axel Springer appears on the list in 33rd place.

The top 10 in full:
·         Google
·         China Mobile
·         Bloomberg
·         Reed Elsevier
·         Apple
·         Yahoo
·         Thomson Reuters
·         WPP
·         Tencent
·         Microsoft

Libraries and publishers – demonstrating the new value


Lynne Brindley, the outgoing CEO of the British Library, addressed an audience of editors, authors and other interested parties at a SAGE reception held at the Reform Club on 26th April.  Her speech reflected on the changing roles of publishers and academic and research librarians – and the relationships between them. 

A book or journal can now be created and accessed digitally and content is being liberated from physical space.  Meanwhile, as the debate surrounding access continues, intellectual property law has still to catch up. 

Academic libraries also have to reassess and articulate their value to their customers and fight for research funding.  The debate around open access continues.  Data heavy research is not just the new normal in STM – other disciplines including the humanities are joining in too.  Lynne urged libraries “to articulate what role they might play in this field and publishers not to lock down possibilities for data and text mining in a too defensive a stance.” 


The generation and dissemination of new knowledge is a critical activity and the different stakeholders must work together ensure success.  Despite dramatic changes in the wider information landscape, Lynne believes that shared values endure.  She called on all interested parties to focus on what they have in common and work together to reach creative solutions and design new business models.