[Asis-l] Two new pricing studies illustrate value of society publishing

[j.platt at ieee.org]

(Cross-posted. Please excuse duplication.)



Contact:    John Platt, 732-981-3449
            j.platt at ieee.org



TWO NEW PRICING STUDIES ILLUSTRATE VALUE OF SOCIETY PUBLISHING

Not-for-Profit IEEE Journals Priced Significantly Less Than Commercial
Journals



12 May 2005 ? Piscataway, NJ ? Two new studies confirm that IEEE journals,
magazines and periodicals are less than half the price of competitive
publications.

The annual Periodical Price Survey published in the 15 April issue of
Library Journal averaged the prices of 4,893 titles documented in three
Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) databases. Based solely on
price, the survey reveals that the average cost of an engineering journal
in 2005 is $1,683, and the average cost of a math and computer science
journal is $1,262. Using the same calculation method, the average price of
an individual IEEE Journal is just $549.

In addition, the 2005 edition of the annual IEEE Journal Pricing Study,
released this week, finds that based on a statistically average 500-page
journal, commercial scientific publishers charge an average of $896 per
journal, compared to an average price of $387 for IEEE journals.

"According to this study, IEEE publications are 57 percent less expensive
than those of commercial publishers," reports William O'Connor, IEEE
Director of Marketing Operations, whose office conducts the annual IEEE
study.

"In addition to total journal price, we also looked at the average price
per page," said O'Connor. "IEEE journals in this study averaged $0.68 per
page, while the average commercially published journal averaged $1.59 per
page."

The IEEE study also found that the average 2005 journal price from other
non-profit publishers is $460, and the average price for all commercial and
nonprofit scientific journals combined is $695.

The Library Journal Periodical Price Survey singled out commercial
publisher Elsevier, which has the highest overall median price in each of
six subject fields. According to Library Journal, the most expensive
journals in 2005 are from Elsevier Science, at an average cost of $1,070.

The subscription prices for all IEEE periodicals are available online at
http://shop.ieee.org/ieeestore/help/subpricelist.html.



About the IEEE


The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society with more
than 365,000 members in approximately 150 countries. Through its members,
the IEEE is a leading authority on areas ranging from aerospace, computers
and telecommunications to biomedicine, electric power and consumer
electronics. The IEEE publishes 30 percent of the world's literature in the
electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, and has
developed more than 900 active industry standards. The organization also
sponsors or cosponsors more than 300 international technical conferences
each year. Additional information is available at www.ieee.org.

###

************************************************************
John R. Platt
IEEE Business Communications Manager
445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
Phone: +1 732 981 3449     Email: j.platt at ieee.org
************************************************************