Elsevier

Elsevier
source
Name	Elsevier
Foundation	0 1880
Founder	Jacobus Robbers
Location	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Industry	Academic publishing
Parent	RELX
Website	https://www.elsevier.com

Elsevier. It is a global leader in information and analytics, operating within the RELX group and serving the scientific, technical, and medical communities. The company is renowned for publishing thousands of academic journals, including prestigious titles such as The Lancet and Cell, and maintains vast digital platforms like ScienceDirect. Its business practices, particularly regarding subscription pricing and copyright policies, have frequently placed it at the center of debates within academic publishing and the broader open access movement.

History

The original House of Elzevir was a celebrated Dutch publishing dynasty founded in the 16th century in Leiden, with notable publications including works by Galileo Galilei and Erasmus. The modern firm was established in 1880 by Jacobus Robbers in Rotterdam, who adopted the Elzevir name for its prestige. Initially focusing on classical literature, such as Tennyson's works, it shifted towards scientific publishing in the 20th century. A significant merger with North-Holland Publishing Company in 1970 bolstered its scientific portfolio, and its 1993 acquisition by Reed International led to its current position within the conglomerate now known as RELX. Key expansions included purchasing Mosby in 1998 and the biomedical database Excerpta Medica.

Business model and operations

Its primary revenue derives from institutional subscriptions to its journal bundles and databases, sold to university libraries and corporate R&D departments worldwide. The company employs a subscription business model, often negotiated through large-scale "Big Deal" contracts with consortia like the University of California system. It also generates income from article processing charges for open access publications and analytics tools for pharmaceutical companies and government agencies. Major operational hubs are located in Amsterdam, London, Philadelphia, and Singapore, supporting its global distribution and sales network. Financial performance is reported through its parent company, RELX, on the London Stock Exchange.

Products and services

Its flagship platform, ScienceDirect, provides access to millions of articles from its journal collection and thousands of e-books. Other critical research tools include the citation database Scopus, the clinical decision support resource ClinicalKey, and the literature search engine Embase. The company publishes influential journals like Neuron, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and Tetrahedron Letters. It also offers analytical software such as Pure for research management and Mendeley for reference management and academic social networking, the latter acquired in 2013. These products are integrated into workflows at institutions like MIT and National Institutes of Health.

Criticism and controversies

It has faced sustained criticism from the academic community for high subscription costs, which have triggered cancellations by systems like the University of California and protests such as the Cost of Knowledge boycott. Allegations of anti-competitive practices have drawn scrutiny from the European Commission and entities like SPARC. Its support for the Stop Online Piracy Act and its copyright enforcement actions have been contentious. The practice of journal bundling has been widely debated, and its article sharing policies have been challenged by initiatives like ResearchGate. Scandals include its involvement with the Journal of Medical Case Reports and the creation of fake journals for Merck.

Open access initiatives

In response to pressure, it has developed several open access options, including hybrid journals that offer a Gold open access path upon payment of an article processing charge. It fully publishes open access titles under imprints like Cell Reports and Heliyon. The company is a participant in Plan S, an initiative led by cOAlition S, and has established transformative agreements with institutions such as the Max Planck Society and the Carnegie Mellon University. It also supports Green open access through policies allowing accepted manuscripts to be archived in repositories like arXiv and PubMed Central, subject to specific embargo periods. These efforts are part of a broader industry shift influenced by declarations like the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge.

Category:Academic publishing companies Category:Companies based in Amsterdam Category:RELX