Elsevier
The year 1880 marked the founding of a Dutch academic publishing company that would eventually become known as Elsevier. The organization adopted its name and logo from the historical Elzevir family, who operated as booksellers in Leiden during the late sixteenth century. Lodewijk Elzevir established his business in 1580, creating a legacy that the modern firm honored through its tree entwined with a vine symbol. This emblem carried the Latin phrase Non Solus, meaning not alone, to represent the symbiotic relationship between publisher and scholar.
After World War II, the company executed a strategic pivot away from general publishing toward scientific journals. Profits generated by the newsweekly Elsevier funded this expansion into the scientific field. The weekly published its first issue on the 27th of October 1945 and became an instant success. It served as a continuation of a monthly publication founded in 1891 to promote the house's name before it ceased operations in December 1940 due to German occupation of the Netherlands.
In May 1939, Klautz established the Elsevier Publishing Company Ltd. in London to distribute academic titles throughout the British Commonwealth. He subsequently founded a second international office in New York City when Nazis occupied the Netherlands for five years starting in May 1940. By 1947, the organization began publishing its first English-language journal, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. The acquisition of North Holland Publishing Co. occurred in 1970, followed by the purchase of Excerpta Medica in 1971. These moves introduced computer technology to the firm, making it the only company globally that employed a database for journal production at that time.
The year 1979 saw the launch of the Article Delivery Over Network Information System project, known as ADONIS. This initiative aimed to deliver scientific articles to libraries electronically through partnerships with four business entities. The project continued for over a decade while researchers experimented with new delivery methods. In 1991, the University Licensing Project formed the basis for what would become ScienceDirect, launching six years later in 1997.
ScienceDirect emerged as the first online repository of electronic books and articles after almost twenty years of experimentation. Librarians and researchers initially hesitated regarding this new technology, yet more switched to e-only subscriptions over time. The platform provided access to journals and over 40,000 e-books, reference works, book series, and handbooks grouped into four main sections: Physical Sciences and Engineering, Life Sciences, Health Sciences, and Social Sciences and Humanities.
In 2004, Elsevier launched Scopus, a multidisciplinary metadata database of scholarly publications. It stood as the second such database available after Web of Science, though free Google Scholar also launched that same year. Scopus covered journals, conference papers, and books from various publishers while measuring performance at both author and publication levels. SciVal Spotlight followed in 2009, enabling research administrators to measure their institution's standing regarding productivity, grants, and publications. By 2013, the company had acquired Mendeley, a UK firm making software for managing and sharing research papers.
The year 2023 saw Elsevier report a profit before tax of £2.295 billion with an adjusted operating margin of 33.1%. This figure represented substantial returns on investment despite criticism regarding high subscription prices. In 2018, the firm accounted for 34% of RELX group revenues, totaling £2.538 billion out of £7.492 billion. Operating profits reached £942 million, representing 40% of the parent company's total earnings.
Researchers submitted over 1.8 million research papers to Elsevier-based publications annually. More than 20,000 editors managed peer review and selection processes, resulting in over 470,000 articles published across more than 2,500 journals. Editors generally served as unpaid volunteers performing duties alongside full-time jobs at academic institutions. In 2013, five major editorial groups including Elsevier, Springer, Wiley-Blackwell, Taylor & Francis, and SAGE Publications published more than half of all academic papers in peer-reviewed literature.
By 2019, Elsevier accounted for 16% of the world market in science, technology, and medical publishing. Approximately 45% of revenue by geography derived from North America, while 24% came from Europe and 31% from the rest of the world. Around 84% of revenue originated from electronic usage with only 16% coming from print formats. The firm employed 8,100 people globally under CEO Kumsal Bayazit, who assumed office on the 15th of February 2019.
Mathematician Timothy Gowers publicly announced his decision to boycott Elsevier on the 21st of January 2012. He cited high subscription prices for individual journals, bundling subscriptions of different value, and support for legislation like SOPA, PIPA, and the Research Works Act as primary reasons. A petition advocating noncooperation appeared shortly thereafter on a website called The Cost of Knowledge. By November 2018, over 17,000 academics had signed this document demanding changes to pricing structures.
Librarians began coordinating complaints about big deal journal bundling packages in 2003. These packages offered groups of journal subscriptions at rates where no economical option existed to subscribe only to popular titles. Many felt pressured into buying entire bundles without alternatives. The company disputed claims that its prices were below industry average, stating that bundling was merely one of several options available for accessing journals.
In response to growing pressure, Elsevier issued a statement on the 27th of February 2012 declaring withdrawal from support for the Research Works Act. Hours later, U.S. Representatives Darrell Issa and Carolyn Maloney stated they would not push the bill further through Congress. Despite these concessions, the movement continued to grow as academics argued their publicly funded work should be freely available rather than locked behind expensive paywalls.
Finnish research organizations paid a total of 27 million euros in subscription fees during 2015. Over one-third of those costs went directly to Elsevier, information revealed after successful court appeals following denied requests due to confidentiality clauses. This disclosure led to creation of the tiedonhinta.fi petition demanding reasonable pricing and open access content signed by more than 2,800 members of the research community. A nodealnoreview.org boycott against the publisher received over 600 signatures.
Germany's DEAL project included over 60 major research institutions announcing cancellation of all contracts with Elsevier effective the 1st of January 2017. Horst Hippler, spokesperson for the consortium, stated taxpayers had rights to read what they were paying for while publishers must understand that affordable open-access publishing routes were irreversible. By August 2017, at least 185 German institutions had cancelled subscriptions, though around 200 universities granted complimentary open access until July of that year ended negotiations.
The Max Planck Society announced on the 19th of December 2018 that existing agreements would not renew after expiration on the 31st of December 2018. The society counted 14,000 scientists across 84 research institutes publishing 12,000 articles annually. In Sweden, the Bibsam Consortium decided in May 2018 not to renew contracts alleging failure to meet demands for sustainable transition toward open access models. Swedish universities retained access to articles published before the 30th of June 2018 while negotiations concluded in November 2019.
A 2009 court case in Australia involved allegations that Merck & Co. paid Elsevier to publish the Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine. This publication appeared peer-reviewed but contained only articles favorable to Merck drugs. Hansen, CEO of Elsevier Health Sciences, released a statement acknowledging these sponsored article compilations lacked proper disclosures and represented unacceptable practices between 2000 and 2005. Six such publications bore the Excerpta Medica imprint before acquisition by Adelphi Worldwide in October 2010.
Mohamed El Naschie served as editor-in-chief of Chaos, Solitons & Fractals journal from 1993 until January 2009 when he retired following speculation about misuse of power. The journal had published 322 papers with El Naschie as author during this period. Nature magazine reported inability to verify claimed affiliations with international institutions, leading to libel suits dismissed in July 2012 where Judge Victoria Sharp found reasonable grounds for suspecting false names were used to defend editorial practices.
Angela Saini criticized two journals, Intelligence and Personality and Individual Differences, for including proponents of scientific racism like Richard Lynn and Gerhard Meisenberg on their editorial boards. On the 17th of June 2020, Elsevier announced retraction of an article claiming skin color related to aggression and sexuality in humans after open letters and petitions highlighted concerns. Nine other journals exhibited unusual self-citation levels resulting in suspension of impact factors from Journal Citation Reports in 2020.
In September 2024, Lucina Uddin, a neuroscience professor at UCLA, filed a class-action lawsuit against Elsevier and five other academic publishers. The suit alleged violations of antitrust law by agreeing not to compete for manuscripts while denying scholars payment for peer review services. This legal challenge represented one of many conflicts surrounding the company's business model and market dominance.
Elsevier initiated lawsuits against shadow libraries Sci-Hub and LibGen in 2015, which made copyright-protected articles available for free without authorization. The firm also claimed illegal access to institutional accounts during these proceedings. A Munich Regional Court chamber ruled that ResearchGate must remove articles uploaded without consent from original publishers following a case brought forward by the Coalition for Responsible Sharing in 2017.
The International Journal of Hydrogen Energy faced criticism in 2023 for desk-rejecting submitted articles primarily because they did not cite enough papers from the same journal. Another publication, Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, became involved in manipulation of peer review reports. These incidents highlighted ongoing tensions between commercial interests and academic integrity within the publishing ecosystem.
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Common questions
When was Elsevier founded and what is its origin?
Elsevier was founded in 1880 as a Dutch academic publishing company. The organization adopted its name and logo from the historical Elzevir family who operated as booksellers in Leiden during the late sixteenth century.
What major strategic pivot did Elsevier execute after World War II?
After World War II, Elsevier executed a strategic pivot away from general publishing toward scientific journals. Profits generated by the newsweekly Elsevier funded this expansion into the scientific field starting with the weekly published on the 27th of October 1945.
How many research papers do researchers submit to Elsevier-based publications annually?
Researchers submitted over 1.8 million research papers to Elsevier-based publications annually. More than 20,000 editors managed peer review and selection processes resulting in over 470,000 articles published across more than 2,500 journals.
Who announced a boycott of Elsevier on the 21st of January 2012 and why?
Mathematician Timothy Gowers publicly announced his decision to boycott Elsevier on the 21st of January 2012. He cited high subscription prices for individual journals bundling subscriptions of different value and support for legislation like SOPA PIPA and the Research Works Act as primary reasons.
When did Germany's DEAL project cancel all contracts with Elsevier effective date?
Germany's DEAL project included over 60 major research institutions announcing cancellation of all contracts with Elsevier effective the 1st of January 2017. By August 2017 at least 185 German institutions had cancelled subscriptions while around 200 universities granted complimentary open access until July of that year ended negotiations.