Academic Journal
From philanthropy to business: the economics of Royal Society journal publishing in the twentieth century.
| Title: | From philanthropy to business: the economics of Royal Society journal publishing in the twentieth century. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Fyfe, Aileen |
| Source: | Notes & Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science; 2024, Vol. 78 Issue 1, p115-142, 28p |
| Abstract: | Scientific journal publishing has become a lucrative enterprise, for commercial firms and (some) society publishers alike; but it was not always thus. The Royal Society is the publisher of the world's longest-running scientific journal, and for most of the history of the Philosophical Transactions, its publication was a severe drain on the Society's finances. This paper uses the rich archives of the Royal Society to investigate the economic transformation of journal publishing over the course of the twentieth century. It began the century as a scholarly mission activity heavily subsidized by the Society, but ended it as a valuable income stream. Never-before-seen data reveal three phases: the end of the philanthropic model of circulation; the transition to a sales-based commercial model amidst the post-war boom in subscriber numbers; and the challenges facing that new business model once subscriber numbers went into decline in the late twentieth century. The paper does not directly address the open access movement of the twenty-first century, but is essential reading to understand the financial background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Subject Terms: | TWENTIETH century, PERIODICAL publishing, MANAGERIAL economics, ECONOMIC development, TWENTY-first century, ELECTRONIC journals |
| Company/Entity: | ROYAL Society (Great Britain) |
| Copyright of Notes & Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science is the property of Royal Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| ISSN: | 00359149 |
| DOI: | 10.1098/rsnr.2022.0021 |
| Database: | Complementary Index |
Availability