Open access provides scholarly journal articles for free to readers online without most licensing and copyright restrictions.

As a Senior Analyst at Simba Information, Dan Strempel serves as an expert on the professional publishing markets, including scientific, technical, and medical (STM) publishing and legal and business information markets. He writes and edits research reports and completes custom research projects, which provide market analysis, competitive intelligence, and unique insight into emerging trends.

All eyes in the scholarly professional publishing industry are on market leader Elsevier to see how the company will react to a decision by of a group of prominent University of California faculty to step away from journal editorial boards until the publisher agrees to restart negotiations with the 10-campus system on a new contract for access to Elsevier’ scholarly journals.

Medical publishing targets both students and professionals practicing in a variety of healthcare professions. The market encompasses a broad range of formats from journals and books to online content such as databases and clinical research tools.

Karen Meaney is a senior analyst/editor at Simba Information, where she has worked for 14 years, writing more than two dozen reports on the educational publishing industry.

Educational publishing is no stranger to disruption, and this vast, shifting market is experiencing new waves of challenges and competitive forces.

The growth of mobile technology has created great opportunities for publishers that develop content for professionals in medicine, business, law, scientific and technical fields.

Accessing content with tablets and smartphones is becoming the norm for many professionals in a variety of occupations.

Kathy Mickey is a managing editor of the Education Group at Simba Information, where she has worked for 19 years, authoring more than 50 studies focused on PreK-12, higher education instructional materials, and educational technology. She also is the primary author of the biweekly newsletter Educational Marketer and oversees the editorial production of a second biweekly newsletter Electronic Education Report. 

Scientific, technical, and medical (STM) publishing exceeds $25 billion annually, and its leading competitors consistently post adjusted profit margins that exceed 30%, according to our research at Simba Information. 

However, these same STM publishers are facing disruption in the face of a movement to create open access to the scholarly research they publish. 

Social science and humanities (SSH) publishing encompasses a broad range of subject areas, from anthropology and religion to music and philosophy. Types of media include print and electronic books and journals, as well as online services and databases.