Reed Elsevier

Reed Elsevier (, , , ) is a leading global publisher and information provider.

History

Reed Elsevier came into being in January 1993 as the result of a merger between Reed International, a British trade book and magazine publisher, and the Dutch science publisher Elsevier NV.

History of Reed International

In 1894, Albert E. Reed established a newsprint manufacture at Tovil Mill near Maidstone, Kent. In 1903, Albert E Reed & Co was registered as a public company. In 1970, the company name was changed to Reed International Limited.

History of Elsevier NV

In 1880, Jacobus George Robbers started a publishing company called NV Uitgeversmaatschappij Elsevier in Rotterdam.

Company divisions

Reed Elsevier conducts its business through a number of subsidiary companies:

The science and medical publishing division is Elsevier.
The legal publishing division is LexisNexis.
The education division is Harcourt Education.
The business division is Reed Business Information

Key products

ScienceDirect contains over 25% of the world's science, technology and medicine full text and bibliographic information.

Scopus is the world's largest abstract and citation database of research literature and quality web sources. It's designed to find the information scientists need. Quick, easy and comprehensive, Scopus is updated daily.

Reed Business, Reed Elsevier's global Business division, is a provider of magazines, exhibitions, directories, online media and marketing services across five continents. Its prestige brands serve professionals across a diverse range of industries. These brands include Variety, New Scientist, totaljobs.com, Elsevier, Kellysearch, and the World Travel & Tourism Market.

Harcourt is Reed Elsevier's educational publishing division, with a leading market position in the US and among other English=speaking territories including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Africa. Harcourt's international publishing imprints include Heinemann.

Pricing issues

Reed Elsevier has been criticised for its pricing policies, especially Elsevier and LexisNexis. Members of the scientific community have called for a boycott of Elsevier journals and a move to open access publications such as those of the Public Library of Science or BioMed Central.

Arms dealing

Members of the medical and scientific communities, which purchase and use many journals published by Reed Elsevier, have agitated for the company to cut its links to the arms trade. A subsidiary, Spearhead, organizes defence shows, including a recent event where it was reported that cluster bombs and extremely powerful riot control equipment were offered for sale.

External links

ketupa.net media profile: Reed Elsevier historical overview
Double Dutch No Longer in-depth article about the company from 2002 (Forbes.com)
The Observer March 14, 2004: Black arts of the science mags

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