Information AboutElsevier |
|
ORIGINS Elsevier took its name (in modernised form) from the historic Dutch publishing house of the same name (see House Of Elzevir ). The Elzevir family had operated as booksellers and publishers in the Netherlands . Its founder, Lodewijk Elzevir , (1542–1617) lived in Leiden and established the business in 1580 . As publishers of new work by Descartes , Galileo , and Grotius , they account for part of the reason for Bertrand Russell 's comment that it "is impossible to exaggerate the importance of Holland in the seventeenth century, as the one country where there was freedom of speculation". MODERN COMPANY The modern company was founded in 1880. Leading products include journals such as '' The Lancet '', '' Cell '' and '' Tetrahedron Letters '', books such '' Gray's Anatomy '' and the '' ScienceDirect '' collection of electronic journals. Others include the '' Trends '' series, and the '' Current Opinion '' series. ELSEVIER COMPANY Elsevier may be the world’s largest provider of science and health information. It publishes about 250'000 articles per year in 2000 journals. Its archives contain 7 million past publication. Total yearly downloads amount to 240 millions. {Link without Title} Economic indicators Elsevier is part of the Reed Elsevier group. In terms of Revenue , it accounts for 28% of the total (₤1.5b of 5.4 billions in 2006). In terms of Operating Profit s, it represents an much bigger fraction of 44% (₤395 of 880 millions) Adjusted operating profits have risen by 10% between 2005 and 2006 [http://www.investis.com/reports/reed_ar_2006_en/report.php?type=0&page=17 . Company figures Partners: with a global scholarly community of 7,000 journal editors, 70,000 editorial board members, 200,000 reviewers. Publishes: the original work of more than 500,000 authors each year in 2,000 journals, 17,000 books, 20 new journals and 1,900 new books. History: recently celebrated the 125th anniversary (and the 425th anniversary of the unrelated publishing house of Elzevier from which the modern company takes its name.) Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Erik Engstrom {Link without Title} Headquarters: Amsterdam, Elsevier employs more than 7,000 people in over 70 offices across 24 countries (Elsevier's at a glance web site {Link without Title} ) Elsevier's operating divisions Elsevier has two distinct operating divisions: Science & Technology and Health Sciences. Products and services include electronic and print versions of journals, textbooks and reference works and cover the health, life, physical and social sciences. CRITICISM In recent years the subscription rates charged by the company for its journals have been criticised; some very large journals (those with more than 5000 articles) charge subscription prices as high as $14,000, far above average. The company has been criticised not just by advocates of a switch to the so-called Open-access publication model, but also by universities whose library budgets make it difficult for them to afford current journal prices. Several entire editorial boards leave Elsevier in protest In November 1999 the complete Editorial Board of the '' Journal Of Logic Programming '' (50 editors in total) collectively resigned after 16 months of unsuccessful negotiations with Elsevier Press about the price of library subscriptions. This editorial board created a new journal ('' Theory And Practice Of Logic Programming '') with a lower priced publisher, and on its side Elsevier continued the publication of the journal with a completely different editorial board and a slightly different name (The '' Journal Of Logic And Algebraic Programming ''). At the end of 2003, the entire editorial board of the prestigious '' Journal Of Algorithms '' resigned to start '' Transactions On Algorithms '' with a different, lower priced publisher. {Link without Title} {Link without Title} The same happened in 2005 to the '' International Journal Of Solids And Structures '' whose editors resigned to start the '' Journal Of Mechanics Of Materials And Structures ''. However, a new editorial board was quickly established and the journal continues in unaltered form. On at a far lower price, under the auspices of the London Mathematical Society. {Link without Title} The above description represents the complaints from the respective editorial boards. It should be noted that the publishing personnel at Elsevier involved maintain that many discussions were held with the respective journals regarding these issues, but that the editorial boards in question refused to negotiate. Petition against Reed Elsevier's involvement in weapon shows In the March 2007 issue of the medical journal The Lancet, leading medical centers including the UK Royal College of Physicians urged Reed Elsevier to sever weapons ties. Doctors spoke out against Elsevier's role in the involvement of the organizing of exhibitions for the arms trade. Reed Elsevier’s chief executive responded in June 2007 with a written statement which was welcomed by authors of the petition [http://chronicle.com/news/article/2434/journal-publishing-giant-will-halt-lucrative-business-in-weapons-bazaars . Reed Elsevier recently announced that it will stop participating in arms exhibitions [http://www.reed-elsevier.com/index.cfm?articleid=2084 . IMPRINTS Imprints are brand names in publishing. Elsevier uses its imprints to market to different consumer segments.
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS web sites pertaining to the company
non-Elsevier web sites
|
|
|