In 2025, academic books are experiencing a shift that mirrors, and in some ways exceeds, the transformation journals went through in the last decade. While the shift away from perpetual purchasing is not entirely unexpected, the scale and strategic alignment of this new model signal a redefinition of how book performance is assessed and how books are discovered, accessed, and valued in research workflows.
As library budgets remain under pressure and content needs diversify, access models that prioritize scale, affordability, and integration are rapidly replacing older purchase-based systems. Clarivate’s ProQuest Ebook Central now includes over 700,000 scholarly Ebooks across ten disciplines, supported by an AI-powered research assistant that aids students and researchers in discovery.1 This isn’t just about access – it’s also about how content surfaces, and more importantly, how it competes for attention in increasingly crowded digital ecosystems. Visibility is no longer determined by being listed in a catalogue or on a publisher’s website; it’s shaped by the quality of metadata, the precision of subject classifications, and the extent to which content is indexable by both academic search engines and AI models.
This shift is especially relevant given the growing reliance on AI-powered tools for academic discovery. As students and researchers increasingly engage with conversational interfaces and intelligent assistants, content that isn’t properly structured or discoverable simply doesn’t exist from the user’s perspective. Academic books that fail to meet metadata standards or that lack visibility in index-based discovery systems risk being overlooked, regardless of their scholarly merit. The rise of AI doesn’t just change how discovery happens – it changes what gets discovered.
At the same time, traditional markers of book performance, such as sales, reviews, or library holdings are becoming less relevant. In a subscription-based model, where books are bundled and access is centralized through large-scale platforms, performance is determined by discoverability, usage, and integration into learning and research workflows. In this context, it becomes imperative for publishers to rethink how they evaluate success and where they invest strategic effort. Series-level benchmarking, keyword performance tracking, and metadata optimization, once technical considerations are now core components of a book’s competitive positioning.
These challenges also bring opportunities. With the increasing integration of books into full-content ecosystems, including video, audio, and primary source materials, publishers have the chance to contextualize their titles in richer academic environments. Clarivate’s ProQuest Digital Collections, for example, brings together over 160 million primary source documents with 2,500 scholarly journals, 24,000 videos, and 15 million audio tracks. ¹ Books that are well-positioned within these platforms, both technically and thematically, have a far greater chance of long-term impact and usage.
Responding effectively to these trends requires a holistic understanding of how a book program is currently performing, where the gaps are, and what strategic interventions can drive visibility and engagement. This is where publishers are increasingly turning to structured performance frameworks-landscape analyses that benchmark series and subject areas against competitors; metadata audits that identify discoverability weak points; and indexing strategies that ensure books are not only accessible but also surfaced in the right academic contexts. These are not one-time efforts. As content distribution models evolve and AI tools become more central to academic life, publishers must adopt a continuous optimization mindset.
Learn More
Maverick understands the complexity of this shift and supports publishers in navigating it with precision. Our tailored solutions include program-level benchmarking, metadata optimization, and indexing strategy designed to help books gain visibility and impact in increasingly digital and AI-powered environments. We offer tools that allow for deep analysis of book performance across platforms, audience segments, and formats, enabling publishers to develop clear, actionable strategies for growth.
Maverick’s flexible structure allows us to assemble expert teams tailored to each project, offering support across editorial, production, distribution, and marketing functions. Contact your Maverick representative or info@maverick-os.com for a free consultation.
By Mert Köse, Affiliate Senior Associate
Mert Köse is an academic publishing professional and a lecturer at Istanbul Bilgi University’s media communication department with extensive experience in open-access publishing. He has worked as an M&A representative at Frontiers. Mert has extensive expertise in STM publishing, particularly in editorial development, journal management, and bibliometric analysis. Previously, Mert served as a Research & Development manager at Galenos. He presented a conference on predatory journals at the interdisciplinary Ph.D. communication conference at Istanbul Bilgi University in 2021.
Further Reading
Comprehensive Book Strategy service sheet
Like the Book Strategy program, Maverick’s Journal Performance Analysis can help improve the performance of your journals through tailored, actionable strategies that drive measurable results. Learn more at the links below.
Journal Performance Analysis – Redefining journal success in a competitive era
Journal Performance Analysis service sheet
Journal Performance Analysis: Navigating Global Publishing Shifts and Impact Factors
References
- ProQuest Ebook Central Research Assistant Overview. https://about.proquest.com/en/blog/2025/a-closer-look-at-ebook-centrals-user-focused-roadmap