Press Release - European Research in Scientific Publishing

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

Of possible interest.

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Contact: Pieter Bolman
Email: Linda@stm.nl

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STM WELCOMES EUROPEAN COMMISSION STUDY ON ROLE OF SCIENTIFIC
PUBLISHING IN EUROPEAN RESEARCH

London, England, April 19, 2006 - The International Association 
of Scientific, Technical, & Medical Publishers (STM) a global 
membership organisation representing approximately 100 publishing 
organisations in copyright issues, legal and legislative issues, 
and technology developments, acknowledged the 'Study on the 
economic and technical evolution of the scientific publication 
markets in Europe', by the EC Directorate-General for Research, 
released 31 March 2006.

STM will review the results of the Study in greater detail and 
looks forward to further discussions and collaboration with 
DG-Research.

Jerry Cowhig, Managing Director of Institute of Physics 
Publishing and current Chair of STM said, 'STM welcomes unbiased 
research into STM publishing and is pleased that the DG-Research 
highlights the importance of STM publishing to the European Union 
and society in general. It has been estimated that STM's members 
produce over 70% of the total annual output of global research 
information, so we intend to contribute significantly to the 
debate concerning science publishing. Science is fundamental to 
improving the lives of EU citizens. Ensuring a viable basis for 
science publishing is fundamental to the dissemination and 
understanding of science.'

According to Pieter Bolman, Chief Executive Officer of STM, 
'While our membership is global, a high proportion are based or 
represented in the EU. We estimate that STM publishers employ 
approximately 35,000 staff in the EU - true knowledge workers - 
in addition to the many thousands of academics in the EU who act 
as editors or reviews of scholarly journals. So it is important 
that all stakeholders continue constructive discussions.'

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The International Association of STM Publishers (STM) has offices 
in The Hague and London. STM includes large and small companies, 
not for profit organisations and learned societies, traditional 
primary and secondary publishers and new players. The mission of 
STM is to support the goals of its members by representing and 
advocating their best interests around the globe. 
www.stm-assoc.org

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