Nova Publishers

Nova Publishers, also known as Nova Science Publishers, is an American academic publishing company headquartered in Hauppauge, New York. Founded in 1985 by Frank Columbus, a former senior editor at Plenum Publishing, the company developed a broad scholarly publishing program focused particularly on science, medicine, and the social sciences. Its output includes research monographs, edited books, encyclopedias, handbooks, e-books, and academic journals. The company operates primarily as a specialist scholarly publisher rather than as a mass-market trade imprint. Its catalog covers a wide range of scientific and professional subjects, including engineering, clinical medicine, human biology, health, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geosciences, and social science. Nova’s books and serial publications are distributed to academic libraries, researchers, institutions, and professional readers in the United States and international markets. Nova became notable for the scale of its book production. Bibliometric studies covering different periods have placed the company among the world’s most prolific academic book publishers, particularly in science and technology-related fields. It was reported as ranking fourth by the number of books published between 2005 and 2012, and among the five most prolific publishers during 2009–2013. Studies also placed it among leading publishers by volume in engineering and technology and in science. Nova has been included in the Book Citation Index, which forms part of the Web of Science Core Collection, and its publications have also been represented in Scopus-related indexing analyses. In 2022, it was listed as approved in the Norwegian register for scientific journals, series, and publishers maintained by the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. The company’s publishing model has also attracted criticism. Librarians and scholarly-communication commentators have questioned whether all Nova publications receive rigorous academic peer review. Critics have further argued that some titles repackage public-domain book chapters or freely available government material and sell the resulting compilations at relatively high prices. These concerns have led to debate about the distinction between conventional scholarly publishing and high-volume compilation publishing. Nova was classified as a vanity press on Beall’s List, a now-discontinued list associated with criticism of questionable scholarly publishing practices; that classification is part of the public controversy surrounding the company rather than a definitive assessment of every Nova title. After Frank Columbus died in 2010, his wife, Nadya Columbus, took over the firm’s operations. The company continued publishing books and journals across its established subject areas. As of February 2018, Nova listed approximately 100 currently published journals. From 2021 onward, new book publications began to include Digital Object Identifiers, reflecting a move toward more standardized digital discovery and citation infrastructure. Nova therefore occupies a distinctive position in academic publishing: it has substantial output and broad indexing visibility, while its editorial and production practices have been the subject of continuing scrutiny from librarians and researchers.

Nova Publishers, formally known as Nova Science Publishers, was established in New York in 1985 by Frank Columbus. Before founding the company, Columbus had worked as a senior editor at Plenum Publishing. Nova was created as a specialist academic publisher and built its identity around books and serials for research and professional audiences rather than consumer trade publishing. From its early development, the company concentrated on scholarly fields with large and diverse research literatures. Its principal areas included science, engineering, medicine, health, and the social sciences, while its catalog also extended into political science, biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geosciences, and related disciplines. The publishing program included authored monographs, edited collections, encyclopedias, handbooks, e-books, and journals. This broad subject coverage allowed Nova to serve libraries and researchers across many academic departments. Nova’s most visible characteristic became the volume of its book production. Bibliometric studies of academic publishing placed the company among the most prolific book publishers during several measured periods. It ranked fourth by the number of books published from 2005 to 2012 and appeared among the leading publishers by output in the 2009–2013 period. In some subject-area comparisons, it ranked near the top in engineering and technology, science, clinical medicine, human biology, animal and plant biology, geosciences, health, chemistry, physics, and astronomy. These rankings measured publication volume, not necessarily scholarly influence. The company’s visibility in academic information systems developed alongside its output. Nova was included in the Book Citation Index, a component of the Web of Science Core Collection, and its publications were considered in analyses involving Scopus and other national and international scholarly databases. A 2017 survey identified Nova among a relatively small core of publishers indexed across all five systems examined in that study. At the same time, citation-based research often found a contrast between Nova’s high number of books and lower citation impact per book compared with other prolific academic publishers. This distinction shaped how the company was viewed: highly productive in quantitative terms, but more uneven in measured scholarly influence. Frank Columbus died in 2010. After his death, his wife, Nadya Columbus, took over the firm’s operations. The company continued its established publishing activities under that leadership. By February 2018, Nova listed about 100 currently published journals, indicating that its program extended beyond books into a substantial serial-publishing operation. Nova’s editorial model became the subject of criticism from librarians and others concerned with scholarly quality control. Critics argued that some publications did not consistently undergo conventional academic peer review. They also objected to books that appeared to reproduce or compile public-domain chapters and freely accessible government publications, particularly when sold at high prices to institutional buyers. Beall’s List classified Nova as a vanity press. These criticisms are important to the company’s publishing history, although they do not establish that every Nova publication followed the same editorial process or had the same level of scholarly quality. During the 2020s, Nova maintained its book and journal activities while adopting additional digital publishing infrastructure. New books published from 2021 onward began carrying Digital Object Identifiers. In 2022, the publisher was reported as approved in the Norwegian register for scientific journals, series, and publishers maintained by the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. The company’s documented trajectory therefore combines long-term specialization in academic publishing, unusually high book output, international indexing and distribution, continuing expansion of digital identification practices, and persistent debate about peer review, originality, and pricing.

• 2022

  Approval reported in the Norwegian scientific publishing register

  [1]Nova Science Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  Nova was reported as approved in the Norwegian register for scientific journals, series, and publishers.

• 2021

  Digital Object Identifiers introduced for new books

  [1]Nova Science Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  New book publications began to include DOIs, supporting persistent digital identification and citation.

• 2018

  Journal program reported at approximately 100 titles

  [1]Nova Science Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  In February 2018, Nova listed approximately 100 currently published journals.

• 2010

  Nadya Columbus assumes operational leadership

  [1]Nova Science Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  After Frank Columbus died, his wife Nadya Columbus took over operations of the firm.

• 1985

  Nova Science Publishers is founded

  [1]Nova Science Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  Frank Columbus founded the academic publishing company in New York after working as a senior editor at Plenum Publishing.

A high-output specialist academic publisher serving researchers, universities, libraries, and professional audiences across science, medicine, engineering, social science, and related reference fields. Its market position combines broad subject coverage and substantial publication volume with ongoing debate about peer-review rigor, originality, and pricing.

• Academic books · 1985

  Scientific and engineering books

  Nova publishes authored and edited books across engineering, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geosciences, and related scientific fields. These titles form a major part of the company’s high-volume scholarly book program and are aimed at researchers, academic libraries, and professional readers.

• Academic books · 1985

  Medical and health-science publications

  The medical program covers clinical medicine, human biology, health, and associated biomedical subjects. Publications include research monographs and edited collections intended for specialist and institutional audiences.

• Academic books · 1985

  Social-science and political-science publications

  Nova publishes books in social science and political science, contributing to its wider humanities-adjacent and policy-oriented catalog. The company has appeared in comparative studies of political-science publishers and international scholarly publishing.

• Reference works · 1985

  Encyclopedias and handbooks

  Reference publishing is part of Nova’s academic portfolio. Its encyclopedias and handbooks consolidate specialist material for researchers, students, libraries, and professional users across scientific, medical, and social-science fields.

• Scholarly journals

  Nova academic journals

  Nova operates a journal program spanning multiple academic disciplines. Approximately 100 currently published journals were listed in February 2018, and the company’s journals and series have been considered in international indexing and publisher-register evaluations.

• Digital academic publishing

  E-books

  Nova offers electronic editions alongside its print-oriented academic catalog. Its digital publishing activity includes the use of Digital Object Identifiers for new books published from 2021 onward.

• Criticism of peer-review and compilation practices

  Librarians and scholarly-communication commentators criticized Nova for allegedly not applying academic peer review consistently across its publications. Critics also objected to the republication or compilation of public-domain book chapters and freely accessible government publications at prices they considered high. Beall’s List classified the publisher as a vanity press.

  Source

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• 2022

  Approval in the Norwegian scientific publishing registerOther

  Background

  Norway maintains a register used to identify approved scientific journals, series, and publishers for research-related evaluation purposes.

  Action taken

  Nova was reported as approved in the register maintained by the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills.

  Aftermath

  The approval provided recognition within that national scholarly publishing classification system.

  Source

• 2021

  Adoption of Digital Object Identifiers for new booksStrategy

  Background

  Persistent digital identifiers had become an important part of scholarly discovery, cataloging, and citation.

  Action taken

  Nova began including DOIs in new book publications from 2021 onward.

  Aftermath

  The change improved the formal identification and citability of newly published titles, although no broader financial or performance outcome is documented in the supplied sources.

  Source

1. 1Nova Science Publishersen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Nova Publishers official websitenovapublishers.com