1. THE SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING
& ACADEMIC RESOURCES COALITION
21 Dupont Circle NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 296-2296
www.arl.org/sparc
Society for Scholarly Publishing
Innovative Partnerships for Small Publishers
Publishing Cooperatives
Raym Crow
Senior Consultant, SPARC Consulting Group
2. What We’ll Cover
• Recap HFES profile
• Compare HFES against other small publishers
• Review the shared needs of small publishers
• Describe how a publishing cooperative might work
• Suggest cooperatives as an innovative publisher
partnership
www.arl.org/sparc
3. HFES Profile
• 3 peer reviewed journals (two print & online, one
magazine format)
• Monthly Bulletin
• Annual Proceedings
• Annual topical review book series
• Annual member directory
• Occasional books
www.arl.org/sparc
4. HFES Profile
• 4,700 members
• $1.6 million budget
• 3 full-time publishing staff
www.arl.org/sparc
5. Context
Society Publishers <$500,000 in revenue
Median Publishing Staff 3
Paid Circulation <5,000 96%
Publish books 45%
Publish e-newsletter 73%
Outsource Some/All Functions 83%
Median Revenue (quarterlies) $ 239,000
Median Costs $ 324,000
Generate Any Net Income 7%
Source: 2005 Association Publishing Benchmarking Study
www.arl.org/sparc
6. Context: Journals per Society
Almost 90% of
publishing
societies publish
one journal
Over 97%
publisher three
or fewer
journals
Per Ulrich’s analysis, 2005.
www.arl.org/sparc
7. Context: Journals by Medium
Substantial portion of
peer reviewed journals
remain print only.
Per Ulrich’s analysis, 2005.
www.arl.org/sparc
8. Context: Mixed Market for Journals
~20,000 peer reviewed
scholarly & scientific
journals
Per Ulrich’s analysis, 2005.
www.arl.org/sparc
10. Shared Services Cooperative
• Group of publishers that forms to provide
one or more services to improve their
competitiveness & sustainability
• Purchases or provides services at a cost below
what members could achieve individually
• Services depend on member needs—
can evolve over time
www.arl.org/sparc
11. Potential Cooperative Services
• Editorial services
• Print purchasing
• Online distribution
• Marketing & sales programs
• Licensing & rights management
• Subscription & membership management
• Publication business management
Through shared services. . .
Through collective purchasing
www.arl.org/sparc
12. Cooperative Basics
• Owned by members
– Members exercise democratic control
– Member equity based on use of services
www.arl.org/sparc
13. Cooperative Basics
• Owned by members
• Provides services at cost
– Income from fees
– Surplus returned as patronage refunds
– Allocated equity redeemed over time
www.arl.org/sparc
14. Cooperative Basics
• Owned by members
• Provides services at cost
• Retained equity provides operating capital
– Meet market demand for new content
– Fund investments in services
www.arl.org/sparc
21. Cooperative Benefits
Collective action to provide—
• Increased market power & visibility
• Scale economies
• Access to management & planning services
www.arl.org/sparc
22. Cooperative Benefits
Collective action to provide—
• Increased market power & visibility
• Scale economies
• Access to management & planning services
• Capital & risk pooling
www.arl.org/sparc
23. Cooperative Benefits
Collective action to provide—
• Increased market power & visibility
• Scale economies
• Access to management & planning services
• Capital & risk pooling
• Control & mission alignment
www.arl.org/sparc
24. Cooperative Benefits
Collective action to provide—
• Increased market power & visibility
• Scale economies
• Access to management & planning services
• Capital & risk pooling
• Control & mission alignment
Can complement other nonprofit publishing services.
www.arl.org/sparc
25. Prerequisites
• Adequately defined scope
• Sufficient scale to warrant group action
• Able to provide a solution solely on
economic terms
• Culturally, politically & economically
appropriate for the group
www.arl.org/sparc
26. Cooperative Launch Process
• Exploratory meeting: identify unserved needs
• Float concept proposal that conveys vision
• Survey potential member universe
• Analyze feasibility
• Develop business plan
• Implement & launch
www.arl.org/sparc
27. For More Information
Raym Crow
Senior Consultant
SPARC Consulting Group
crow@arl.org
1.703.536.7447
www.arl.org/sparc
