The E-book and Spanish Scientific Publishers in Social and Human Sciences

The purpose of this article is threefold: (1) To study the course of development, approaches, and strategies of Spanish scientific publishers specializing in the humanities and social sciences; (2) to establish a profile of publishers based on their information and attitudes; and (3) to identify the opportunities and challenges which exist for publishers. In-depth interviews were conducted with twenty-eight relevant Spanish publishers; their attitudes were observed to be generally cautious, expectant, and in favour of maintaining the status quo, despite all being convinced that the e-book is an element transforming the publishing sector and that, in the near future, both the printed and electronic book will coexist. This study provides information direct from the publishers themselves, offering theorists detailed and accurate insight into the publishing sector and better opportunity to evaluate the impact of publisher attitudes on other agents implicated in the development of the e-book. The study puts on record the first stage of the irruption and consolidation of the e-book in the Spanish academic sector. It also establishes comparisons with publishing sectors of other countries.