Early e-media pioneers continue to grow revenues as they move on to a ‘second phase’ of serving content to users.

By James Sturdivant

Strempel points to Springer as an example of a company that has benefited from Google’s service, noting the company has 29,000 titles displayed through the program, and has seen an increase in sales in both backlist and current titles. He notes, however, that most publishers are not as sanguine.

“Publishers are taking a hard-line stance on copyright because they are afraid of how the laws might evolve in the digital age,” he says. “They also feel Google is using their content to sell advertising, and the publishers get nothing in return.”

Another concern with platforms like Google Book Search is that it will further the sort of information overload that makes it difficult for consumers to distinguish, in Hamer’s words, “good information that you can trust from bad.”

In a world of rapidly expanding media options, it may be that STM publishers’ ability to provide quality content applied judiciously will ultimately prove to be the segment’s ticket to continued growth and success. BB

James Sturdivant is an award-winning freelance writer based in Philadelphia. James Calder contributed to this article.