Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

The stagnation in public spending is reflected in budgets for higher education and libraries. The strength of the dollar relative to other world currencies will add additional pressure for libraries, especially outside of the United States, magnifying the impact of annual price increases and fixed budgets. These forces will accelerate the serials world compression as libraries either do not renew subscriptions or shift to alternative means of access. Publishers and vendors will also feel the compression of shifting or declining revenue. Space, budget, and lack of widespread access continued to compress the number of print format orders in 2014. Open access (OA) continues to develop, but some financial analysts, such as Sami Kassab, executive director at investment firm Exane BNP Paribas, now believe that OA may no longer be a pressure point on commercial publishing. The bankruptcy of Swets Information Services in September 2014 resulted in upheaval for both libraries and publishers.