{"id":7736,"date":"2020-07-13T17:53:24","date_gmt":"2020-07-13T16:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ee.yelkdev.site\/?p=7736"},"modified":"2024-03-28T13:37:17","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T13:37:17","slug":"a-roadmap-for-a-brighter-future-in-academic-publishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.equalexperts.com\/blog\/our-thinking\/a-roadmap-for-a-brighter-future-in-academic-publishing\/","title":{"rendered":"A Roadmap for a Brighter Future in Academic Publishing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Academic publishers, along with all those involved in scholarly communications, are experiencing unprecedented change.\u00a0 This critical moment will have long-lasting effects, with the disruption creating threats and opportunities. This post proposes three directions publishers should consider, if they are to thrive in the new reality…<\/span><\/p>\n

A revolutionary moment<\/b><\/p>\n

Anyone claiming they can accurately predict the future is either a time traveller or a liar.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, there is ample evidence emerging that the Covid-19 pandemic will cause <\/span>a severe economic downturn<\/span><\/a>, if not a global Depression, placing traditional business models under unparalleled pressure.\u00a0 Certainties now appear uncertain.\u00a0 It seems reasonable to predict that things will not return to the way they were before.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Often referred to as an \u2018ecosystem\u2019, the scholarly communications industry includes authors, publishers, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), libraries, businesses, laboratories, funding bodies, governments, and more.\u00a0 The system is a complex, interconnected web.\u00a0 Budget cuts in Higher Education due to <\/span>enrolment deferrals<\/span><\/a> will reduce University Press subsidies.\u00a0 Academics <\/span>will lose jobs<\/span><\/a> – most likely, departments will close, if not <\/span>entire universities<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Library budgets will be cut, which will in turn hit publishers\u2019 bottom lines.\u00a0 What affects one, affects all.<\/span><\/p>\n

In these extraordinary circumstances, the question for leaders in academic publishing becomes: how best to respond?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\"Guiding<\/p>\n

Diversification<\/h2>\n

Immersive Virtual Spaces<\/b><\/p>\n

When shaping transformation journeys with companies of all sizes and sectors, the best approach we\u2019ve found is to anchor the discussion with <\/span>our Business Evolution Map<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Academic Publishing sits on the northwestern region of \u2018Media Publishing\u2019, bordering \u2018Tertiary Education\u2019, due to the overlap in capabilities between the workforces in those two sectors<\/span><\/p>\n

Take a look at the map below.\u00a0 The most relevant border for our purposes is between Academic Publishing and the Tertiary Education sector.\u00a0 Universities have had their own publishing arms since 1534, and publishers have recently been opening up <\/span>their own Universities<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Indeed, in 2019 Pearson moved even further \u2018west\u2019 into the Secondary Education sector by co-launching <\/span>an online Sixth Form College with Harrow School<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\"Map\"<\/p>\n

With the <\/span>HE Sector being seriously disrupted<\/span><\/a>, a publisher attempting a move into Tertiary Education would be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.\u00a0 So what other directions does the map tell us Publishing should explore?\u00a0 Over the past few years, there has been a breed of CTO in Publishing who have insisted that the path to diversification is to transition into Software Development.\u00a0 According to the map, this is as unlikely as a University Press opening and running a successful retirement home.\u00a0 However, according to the map there is an intriguing journey open to publishers towards \u2018Interactive & Immersive Media\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the idea of thousands of academics flying to briefly attend a conference in person was being challenged by the urgent needs of climate change.\u00a0 Due to budget cuts at Universities, coupled with ongoing public health concerns, all conference travel has been suspended.\u00a0 In this context, a question emerges:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How can Academic Publishing contribute to the effective dissemination of scholarly information in the absence of physical participation?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And more specifically:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What role can publishers play in creating immersive community events, occupying virtual spaces?<\/span><\/p>\n

In a remote-first Higher Education model, what can publishers do to optimise teaching and learning outcomes?<\/span><\/p>\n

With regards to ‘immersive virtual spaces\u2019, those in Academic Publishing are well placed to claim this emerging problem, and open up a lucrative new revenue stream.\u00a0 At first glance, this may feel like a stretch, until you consider that within the cluster of companies that sit alongside Taylor & Francis under the Informa umbrella, there are several Events & Exhibitions businesses.\u00a0 And in the pre-Covid world, universities used their facilities to host a variety of events throughout the year.\u00a0 Virtual conferences present a valuable opportunity to those willing and able to pursue it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The same applies to helping ensure pedagogically sound online teaching and learning in the Covid-19 era.\u00a0 For centuries, Higher Education has involved the student and teacher in the same room, referring to physical reading material, making notes with ink on paper.\u00a0 In recent decades, some of this changed, with the introduction of digital equivalents of their analogue predecessors (an eBook instead of a weighty tome in the student\u2019s bag; a laptop instead of a notepad).\u00a0 With the rapid transition to online learning in Higher Education (it even has <\/span>its own abbreviation<\/span><\/a> now), publishers can and should rethink their role entirely.\u00a0 This line of thought quickly becomes radical: what if the very best way to help students achieve their learning goals is not another book, but a series of podcasts?\u00a0 A suite of interactive masterclasses?\u00a0 A virtual tour of an engineering plant?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfolding<\/b><\/p>\n

In the thorny (if lucrative) textbook market, you see great inventiveness from publishers, exemplified by the publication of new editions of best-selling textbooks in shorter and shorter cycles.\u00a0 This strategy intentionally renders previous versions obsolete, and is intended to combat morbid symptoms such as piracy, leakage and the rampant second-hand market.\u00a0 Such tactics are decreasingly effective, exposing the shortcomings of the textbook business model, and leading to acts of desperation, such as <\/span>failed mergers<\/span><\/a> between large textbook houses.\u00a0 A rethink is required if better outcomes are to be achieved.<\/span><\/p>\n

One potential solution is to <\/span>‘zig when others zag’<\/span><\/a>, by borrowing an idea from Gaming (another part of the \u2018Media Publishing\u2019 sector on the map, above) – namely, the concept of \u2018<\/span>Unfolding<\/span><\/a>\u2019.\u00a0 In essence, this allows the publisher to make post-publication updates and enhancements, extending (rather than deliberately shortening) the life of the work.\u00a0 Small updates would be fed through automatically and for free (including errata, and other small changes to help keep the experience fresh and interesting).\u00a0 More significant changes (e.g. substantial new scholarship, new online supporting materials) would be available for purchase at a marginal cost.<\/span>\"Animal<\/p>\n

Nintendo\u2019s <\/span>Animal Crossing<\/span><\/i> is the world\u2019s biggest selling game of 2020 – despite only releasing two games in the last 12 years.\u00a0 The secret to how they built up such a huge following is \u2018unfolding\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

With the perpetual, fixed digital equivalent of an analogue artefact showing signs of strain – for example, the growing need for asynchronous updates of different chapters within a collected work – \u2018Unfolding\u2019 is an intriguing concept.\u00a0 As elsewhere, it should prove effective in dislocating content updates from the traditional, print-based new edition cycle, thereby reducing costs and opening up new revenue streams.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this scenario, the frequency of new editions, which has been ramping up over the past decade, would drop, and purchasers would instead buy a dynamic digital copy of the book with an extended lifespan.\u00a0 The risks inherent in producing expensive new textbooks every two-three years would be radically reduced, margins would increase whilst <\/span>previously escalating prices<\/span><\/a> would fall.\u00a0 The strain on authors, reviewers and publishing staff would ease, and most importantly, the learning experience would improve.<\/span><\/p>\n\"Diversity\"\n

Discovery<\/h2>\n

Starting with first principles<\/b><\/p>\n

Before proceeding any further, let\u2019s agree on the following:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All those who belong to the scholarly communication ecosystem are actively working to ensure that as many different people as possible can access the right content, at the right time, in the right way.<\/span><\/p>\n

From there, we can agree on further principles – such as, any behaviour that deliberately frustrates the dissemination of knowledge is bad.\u00a0 Everyone involved in the industry would agree that a library cancelling a subscription for budget reasons means we are failing in our collective mission.<\/span><\/p>\n

A castle besieged<\/b><\/p>\n

In his classic novel\/memoir <\/span>Austerlitz<\/span><\/i>, W.G. Sebald examines (amongst many things) the history of fortification.\u00a0 Sebald elegantly analyses how the architectural principles of castles were developed in response to the technology and tactics of those trying to destroy them.\u00a0 Ultimately, the most heavily fortified castles became vulnerable the moment attackers could fly overhead and drop bombs from above.\u00a0 \u201cSomehow we know by instinct,\u201d he writes, \u201cthat outsize buildings cast the shadow of their own destruction before them.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Returning to the matter in hand, proprietary publisher platforms have begun to resemble besieged castles.\u00a0 Outside the walls are camped such forces as <\/span>SciHub<\/span><\/a>, the <\/span>Open Access<\/span> (OA) movement, and international library consortia embarking on <\/span>increasingly vexatious negotiations<\/span><\/a> with content providers.\u00a0 The question is – could publishers hunkered down within their castles be spending their time and money better by doing something other than building, maintaining and defending ever higher and thicker (pay)walls?<\/span><\/p>\n

Breaking down old boundaries<\/b><\/p>\n

In the same way that we saw how the differences between the physical and virtual worlds are being dissolved by such concepts as immersive digital spaces, so other boundaries are being challenged.\u00a0 Three of the most important are as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Academic disciplines<\/b>: In his recent article for <\/span>the Scholarly Kitchen<\/span><\/a>, Simon Holt spoke persuasively of \u2018interdisciplinarity [becoming] the new norm\u2019, with HSS and STEM disciplines mixing more easily than ever<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Publishing imprints<\/b>: During the typical discovery use case, readers rarely care about which publisher publishes what<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. In front of or behind the paywall<\/b>: The OA movement is disrupting the traditional business model of valuable scholarly content existing behind a paywall, with legitimate access impossible without the individual or institution paying for it<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    On the last point, it was encouraging to see <\/span>publishers unilaterally drop paywalls to allow access to Covid-19 related content. <\/span><\/a>\u00a0Yet as a rule only STEM-related content was opened up, indicating a failure to comprehend the opportunity at hand.\u00a0 As Bernice Housman, from the Department of Humanities at Penn State College of Medicine, <\/span>recently said<\/span><\/a>:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Science-based medicine is a tremendous advantage that we have in the modern world.\u00a0 The fact that we could sequence the genome of the coronavirus so quickly; the fact that we\u2019re talking about a vaccine within 18 months or two years is phenomenal – all that is based on advancements in medicine.\u00a0 But the <\/span>experience<\/span><\/i> of the pandemic, the social disruption it has caused, the difficulties of discrimination and unequal treatment that the pandemic has uncovered – all that is the realm of the social world, and all of that is much more difficult to handle.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Set your content free<\/b><\/p>\n

    Pandemic or not, there is no bigger priority for publishers in the digital age than the optimisation of discovery.\u00a0 Therefore, instead of trying to ensure content is protected from all angles by a high and thick paywall, this issue can and should be turned on its head.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The single most transformative action that academic publishers could take would be to destroy paywalls forever, now.\u00a0 If publishers are to remain sustainable businesses, this may well be too radical a move.\u00a0 But there is now, and there is the future.\u00a0 <\/span>In software, the \u2018open source\u2019 movement was once considered a fundamental attack on the bottom line, aimed at destroying the big software producers.\u00a0 Instead, open source software (and the technology companies that use it) has risen to rule the business world.<\/span><\/p>\n

    So what are the most constructive and effective options available to publishers when it comes to improving the discovery journey?\u00a0 One would be a more \u2018porous\u2019 paywall, which would grant non-subscribing individuals and institutions time-limited access to the content they need for a marginal cost.\u00a0 This would generate positive PR; broaden participation (from scholars in the developing world, from independent researchers, from smaller schools and businesses, etc); and create new revenue streams.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Another idea would be to explore how access could be indicated earlier in the research journey.\u00a0 In other words, the researcher should always be able to see, on the search results page, the content to which they have access.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    It is a truth universally acknowledged that researchers neither start searching on, nor limit their subsequent search to, a single publisher\u2019s platform.\u00a0 Instead, they cast their net wide, engaging with intermediaries such as Google Scholar, who help them navigate the entire research landscape.\u00a0 The problem is, the researcher still only knows if they have access to a piece of content when they hit a paywall, and are either let in or turned away.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    As Olly Cooper, CEO of <\/span>Researcher<\/span><\/a> says:<\/span> \u201c<\/span>Connecting scientists and researchers with relevant, impactful content to which they have legitimate access is still harder than it should be. The cost is an enormous number of missed opportunities for research outcomes to be inspired and progressed.\u00a0 At a time when the world is looking to the academic world to help solve our healthcare, economic and societal challenges, this feels like a high price to pay.\u00a0 Initiatives like <\/span>GetFTR<\/span><\/a> are a great start – but publishers need to achieve universal coverage if they are to properly untangle this problem.”<\/span><\/p>\n

    Attempts have been made in the past.\u00a0 Google Scholar were, a few years ago, exploring the concept of \u201cSearch Once, Read Always\u201d, or \u201cSORA\u201d.\u00a0 Due to a lack of appetite from the major publishers, the idea never came to fruition.\u00a0 With hindsight, this was a missed opportunity, and should be revisited.\u00a0 Google and other aggregators and intermediaries are an increasingly important part of the scholarly communications ecosystem.\u00a0 Publishers should be investing in closer working relationships with them, to improve the discovery journey. There is nothing they could do that would have a more positive and lasting impact.\"Graph\"<\/span><\/p>\n

    Data<\/h2>\n

    What business are you in?<\/b><\/p>\n

    In the digital age, many companies, across a variety of business sectors, have made it a priority to become \u2018data-driven\u2019.\u00a0 This is easy enough to say, and extremely difficult to achieve.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The costs of hiring and keeping highly skilled data scientists would make most publishers blanch, let alone the <\/span>myriad complexities and high costs<\/span><\/a> of creating and maintaining a data lake in the cloud.\u00a0 That said, those publishers who are able to demonstrate the highest levels of transparency and accountability with regards to open data have a significant, positive role to play in the dissemination of knowledge – and an abiding source of competitive advantage.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Buy, Build, Borrow<\/b><\/p>\n

    It should come as a relief to publishers to admit that their traditional, core skills (and wage structures) do not lend themselves to building a comprehensive data capability.\u00a0 The problem of hiring and keeping the required skills, especially during these uncertain times, isn\u2019t one for publishers to claim.\u00a0 Instead, they should conserve their energy (and budgets) and instead consider a simple truth: good data provides quick and reliable answers to the most important questions.\u00a0 In other words, hire and keep those people who have the right mindset, and buy or borrow the rest.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Conclusions<\/h2>\n

    This post started by posing the question: how should publishers best respond to this unprecedented moment?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The current economic, social and cultural crisis is accelerating conversations about how businesses can survive and thrive in this new reality.\u00a0 Faced with a determined OA movement, transformative agreements, library budget cuts, significant student enrolment deferrals, increasingly sophisticated piracy, and a highly organised second-hand market, publishers should resist the conclusion that the answer is to build higher and thicker paywalls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Instead, the answers lie in:<\/span><\/p>\n