BioOne – Supporting Society Publishers Through Collaboration Heather Joseph President, BioOne 21 Dupont Circle, Ste 800 Washington, DC

Mission of BioOne The mission of BioOne is to work collectively to preserve cost effective access to high-quality scientific literature produced by non-profit publishers. It is the shared belief of this group that these small- to mid-sized scholarly societies have played a vital role in advancing the communication of science.

Supporting Society Publishers A recent survey conducted by The Scientist indicates that over 80% of scientists belong to at least one scholarly society. Survey cited participation in meetings and conferences (67.4%), association with fellow scientists (65.6%), and subscriptions to research journals (60.1%) as their major motivations. (The Scientist, March 10, 2003).

Supporting Society Publishers Initially, BioOne’s BioOne’s focus was on helping these publishers make the transition from print based distribution to electronic distribution WITHOUT having to turn over control to commercial players. Journals (and societies) are topically diverse, with measurable impact. Journals have historically been produced and distributed in a cost effective manner

Understanding Society Publishers’ Financial Operations BioOne is committed to providing an electronic access solution based as close to a real cost recovery model as possible, and is uniquely positioned to do so. Examined a representative cross section of participating publishers’ actual financials (P&Ls) and circulation statements for the past three years.

What did we Find? Societies are as individual as fingerprints, diversity and complexity abound, but key data points emerged These journals are comparatively low cost - averaging >$190/year per subscription Operating models are consistently aimed at cost-recovery to modest surpluses Journals have average fixed costs of ~63% Journals get an average of ~66% revenue from institutional print subscriptions Print subscription revenue is falling.

What Does this Data tell Us? These journals are comparatively low cost - averaging >$190/year per subscription Cost contrasts sharply with average costs of commercial run journals Consistent with perception of societies playing “good citizen” role in scholarly marketplace. Operating models are consistently aimed at cost- recovery to modest surpluses Key point is that neither break even operations nor surpluses are consistent journal to journal on a year over year basis.

What Does this Data Tell Us? Journals have an average content creation/fixed (first copy) cost of ~63%. These costs include: Editorial content preparation: editorial and peer review, editing, SGML/HTML/XML coding, composition of article/non-article content for print or online distribution. Publishing support activities: marketing, advertising sales, finance, and administration. Why is this important? Quantifying real, ongoing costs is critical element in determining mutual acceptable levels for support - be it subscription charges or author fees.

Cost Ratios In STM Marketplace

Sources of Revenue

Steady Loss of Print Subscriptions Over the past three years, there has been a steady trend of the loss of print subscriptions to the BioOne publishers as a whole data is preliminary, but indications point to trend accelerating. ARL Survey indicates 75% of libraries plan to cut print when e-copy is available (June 2003) Change %2000/ /2002 Member-22%-7% Non- Member -3%-6% Institutions-!2%-1%

What Does this Mean for Libraries and for BioOne? The accelerated willingness of libraries to cancel print content in favor of electronic content means that BioOne MUST shift its focus to helping these journals manage the transition from print- to electronic- based business models, and we must do it in a concentrated time frame. BioOne is working to configure operations towards the replacement of revenue previously realized from institutional subscriptions, rather than providing incremental revenue over and above print revenue.

What BioOne has Done Strictly limited addition of new titles; focus on adjusting model for current publishing partners. Conducted in-depth survey of financials of participating publishers to quantify actual subscription loss and net performance of publishing programs. BioOne has begun to accurately quantify essential costs of publishing partners, and opened discussions with library community on best ways to meet them.

Steps BioOne is Currently Taking Conduct follow up surveys of BioOne publishers, ensuring that we have accurate year-over -year subscription and cost data Pursue working more closely with publishers to help reduce participating publishers’ overall costs. For example, consider other areas in which the “strength in numbers” strategy might help to achieve efficiencies through group negotiations/purchases. Aggressively pursue opportunities for additional non-subscription based revenue

Steps BioOne is Currently Taking Work closely with library community to determine appropriate pricing schedule for current core BioOne titles for that will adequately cover publishers fixed costs. Pricing decisions will use data from surveys, and must support both current content as well as additional content. Publishers have indicated an interest in considering Open Access Models of publishing - if fixed costs are covered, comfort level increases.

What can Libraries do to Support Society Publishers and BioOne? Work with us as we navigate our way through this transition - BioOne’s publishing partners are committed to working collaboratively determining mechanisms for managing this transition. Understand that while the price of BioOne will increase, we are trying to not simply ask libraries to pay more, but rather to work to shift money invested in print into supporting the electronic version of these journals. Look at price increases in terms of real dollars, and not percentages.

What can Libraries do to Support Society Publishers and BioOne? Always make decisions while considering the alternatives - if we decide to discontinue supporting these societies, they will, on bulk, either move quickly to the ranks of the commercially produced, or simply cease to exist. Remember the core mission of BioOne: to work collectively to preserve cost effective access to high- quality scientific literature produced by non-profit publishers.