More University Presses In The Future?

Some would be surprised to read that the Journal of Electronic Publishing, has issued a report that suggesting that there could more university presses, not fewer, in the future.

Many would suggest that university presses will be made redundant as more academics and researches publish direct or via their host institutions, but the point raised is that if the presses become closer aligned with their institutions and the academics and also view works not in terms of monographs and journals but more in terms of content then they could enjoy a revival and growth.

In 2009 the University of Michigan Press redefined itself as an academic unit of the campus library. To some this might have been seen as the beginning of the end for the press, but reality has been very different with them taking the lead in setting up an innovative university-based publishing system.

Key to the success of this approach on a wider scale will be the presses working closely together to exploit a handful of "platform providers," perhaps run by university consortia. This outsourcing and collaborative approach could handle the production, delivery and digital preservation and importantly offer the economies of both scale and scope to small presses.

It’s as if digital is on one hand offering major players to dominate and on the other a rebirth of the cottage industry with a new collaborative twist which enables presses to focus on more closely aligning themselves with the academic strengths of their host institutions and academics. The question is can this actually grow such that it threatens the smaller STM publishers?

Read the full article in the Journal of Electronic Publishing

The Digital Only Monograph?

The University of Michigan Press has announced that it will shift its scholarly publishing from being primarily a traditional print operation to one that is primarily digital. They now plan to migrate some 90% of their monographs to digital only renditions over the next two years but enabling readers still to be able to get a physical copy by print on demand.

University presses are experiencing challenging times and are adapting and changing. In the US The University of Missouri Press and the State University of New York Press have announced layoffs and Utah State University Press is facing the removal of university support.

Michigan clearly see the glass half full and potential. The process is less expensive, faster and offers obvious savings in printing and distribution, but offers the opportunity to publish more works and distribute them electronically to a broader audience. Digital also offers the opportunity to market the content, create digital inspection copies and reviews and thereby reduce waste and cost. Books that may have been classed as economically marginal or deemed not worthy from a scholarly perspective can now be reconsidered.

Interestingly and refreshingly in today’s climate the shift is claimed not to be designed to save money, but to make better use of the money being spent on the press and no jobs will be eliminated.

In terms of pricing, Michigan plan to develop site licenses so that libraries can gain access to all of the press's books over the course of a year for a flat rate. This is a similar approach to that being explored by Duke University Press, whose e-Duke Books, provides digital access for a one-year period at a flat rate.