Simba Information: Social Science, Humanities Publishing Sputters with Declining Book Sales

STAMFORD, Conn., March 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A strong U.S. dollar, particularly against the euro, and declining print book sales worked to shrink the social science and humanities (SSH) publishing market in 2015 — this according to Global Social Science and Humanities Publishing 2016-2020, the latest report from Simba Information.

Global SSH sales of $5 billion in 2015 were down a compound annual rate of 1.4% since 2013. This decline would be worse if not for continued growth in online delivery of book collections and journal site licenses.

The flow of research money is one of the characteristics that define this market's performance. Simba estimates total SSH research spending is less than a tenth of scientific, technical and medical (STM) research. STM publishing has an industrial base as a secondary market and benefits from industry R&D. SSH publishing does not, relying primarily on SSH academics and academic libraries. Furthermore, government spending is under strain worldwide, and this is the largest contributor to SSH research. From Congressional hearings to Japanese national universities, government support for SSH research is under fire around the world.

Journals are the fastest growing activity, up 2.4% compounded annually since 2013. Pricing models have shifted from individual prices for journals to bundled prices for groups of journals that vary from institution to institution based on usage or predicted usage, such as faculty numbers and research intensity. The resulting increases are still faster than inflation and faster than library budgets, putting pressure on library managers' purchase decisions.

Global Social Science and Humanities Publishing 2016-2020 provides an overview and financial outlook for the global SSH publishing market based on specific research and analysis of the leading competitors' performance. This research was conducted in conjunction with a larger study of the overall market for professional publishing.The market is divided into four content delivery channels: books, journals, online services (including abstracting and indexing) and other, a category that includes audio, video and CD-ROM information. Simba also examines leading competitors including: Informa, SAGE Publishing, Cengage, John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier, EBSCO, Springer Nature, Oxford University Press, ProQuest, Cambridge University Press and the American Psychological Association.

For more information on Global Social Science and Humanities Publishing 2016-2020 visit: http://www.simbainformation.com/redirect.asp?progid=88538&productid=9596745.

Simba Information is widely recognized as the leading authority for market intelligence in the media and publishing industry. Simba's extensive information network delivers top quality, independent perspective on the people, events and alliances shaping the media and information industry. Simba publishes newsletters and research reports that provide key decision-makers at more than 15,000 client companies around the globe with timely news, analysis, exclusive statistics and proprietary industry forecasts. For more information, please visit www.simbainformation.com or call 888-29-SIMBA.

Contact:
Dan Strempel
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