However, I believe many society publishers would argue that the library market is not the primary reason for publishing. Their primary reason for publishing remains, as it was for Oldenberg, to communicate with their members. While many society publishers do receive substantial income from the libraries, for others, the income is marginal. The real value of the library for society publishers is to serve as a recognized archive for the journal. Now, of course, things are changing.
Progressive libraries seem to be turning their mission from ownership to access.
They do not wish to own the journals, they simply wish to have access to them. In such a situation the archiving function may devolve on the publishers. As this attitude becomes more widespread, libraries may become irrelevant to society publishers. If societies take over the archiving function, and if they continue to send their publications directly to their members, it may happen that the society becomes the only source for the information they produce. The only function the library would serve for the society publisher would be as a pointer to the society as a source of information.