Reed Elsevier

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Image:Reedelsevier logo.gif Reed Elsevier (Template:Euronext, Template:Lse, Template:Nyse, Template:Nyse)is a leading global publisher and information provider.

1 History
- 1.1 History of Reed International
- 1.2 History of Elsevier NV
2 Company divisions
3 Pricing controversy
4 Arms dealing
5 External links

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History

Reed Elsevier started operation in January 1993, as the result of a merger of the British trade book and magazine publisher Reed International, with the Dutch science publisher Elsevier NV.

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History of Reed International

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

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History of Elsevier NV

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

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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, Inc..
The trade magazine division is Reed Business Information

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Pricing controversy

Reed Elsevier are being criticized increasingly for their pricing policies, especially Elsevier and LexisNexis, which have been operating at very high profit margins for several years. Members of the scientific community have repeatedly called for boycotting of Elsevier journals and moving to open access publications such as those of the Public Library of Science or BioMed Central.

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Arms dealing

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

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