The Research Information Network has reportedly joined together with the Publishing Research Consortium, the Society of College, National and University Libraries, and Research Libraries UK for a new study titled 'Activities, costs and funding flows in the scholarly communications system in the UK'. The study has been commissioned to investigate the costs incurred by key agents in the various stages of the scholarly communications process. The global cost each year of undertaking and communicating the results of research reported in journal articles is estimated at £175 billion.
The report from the study enhances understanding of the scholarly communications process by identifying the cash and non-cash costs incurred by the key agents in the various stages of the process; analysing the sources, nature and scale of the funding and other resources provided to meet those costs; and developing and analysing the impact of possible changes.
The study covers all stages of the scholarly communications process - from the production of research outputs to the reading of those outputs. Detailed modelling focuses on the publication, distribution, and provision of access to articles in English-language scholarly journals. Such articles are considered the most important information outputs produced and read by researchers in most subject areas. They account for over half the acquisitions budgets of UK academic libraries.
Other forms of scholarly communications, including monographs and conference proceedings, have not been covered in this study.
