Statistics: Updated Indicators About Academic Publishing in the Humanities Released Online by American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Updated statistics were recently posted in “Academic Publishing” section of the Humanities Indicators web site from American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
From the Web Site:
- The number of new academic titles published annually in the humanities was slightly higher in North America in 2012 than 2009, rising from 48,597 new books published to 51,789 (Indicator IV-12a). In the four years for which data are available, the annual numbers fell as low as 47,124 (in 2010) and rose as high as 53,015 (in 2011).
- While the absolute number of new titles in the humanities increased from 2009 to 2012, the field’s share of all new academic titles published in North America contracted slightly, from 45.1% to 42.9%.
- Adjusted for inflation, the average list price of humanities print books increased 6.8% from 2009 to 2012. The price increase was slightly higher than the change in price for texts in the natural sciences (which increased 5.0%) but considerably less than the growth in the average cost of behavioral and social sciences books, the category that experienced the greatest increase in average price (17.9%).
Much More Data (Including Six Charts)
Note: Data found in charts can be downloaded in XLS, PDF, and PPT formats.
Hat Tip/Thanks: Inside HigherEd
Filed under: Academic Libraries, Data Files, Publishing

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.