Reprinted courtesy of Baker & Taylor
With a history dating back 500 years, university presses have long served as a rich resource for the community. Created to provide a peer-reviewed outlet for faculty research and publications, university presses evolved to create distinct editorial programs reflecting a university’s strengths and regional history.
Reprinted courtesy of Baker & Taylor. The original post can be found here.
With a history dating back 500 years, university presses have long served as a rich resource for the community. Created to provide a peer-reviewed outlet for faculty research and publications, university presses evolved to create distinct editorial programs reflecting a university’s strengths and regional history. University presses are responsible for producing works such as the Oxford English Dictionary and the Children’s Dictionary of American Sign Language. The movie The Hunt for Red October would not have happened without the novel first having been published by Naval institute Press. The University of Akron’s recent decision to transfer its University Press operations to the Division of Libraries reflects the tremendous pressure universities and their library colleagues face these days. Baker & Taylor talked with Meredith Babb, President of AAUP and Director at University Press of Florida, about the state of the industry.
Baker & Taylor: What unique purposes do university presses (UPs) serve?
Meredith Babb (MB): First and foremost is management of the peer-review process for long-form (book/monograph) scholarly arguments. Second is a focused and strategic investment in particular disciplines or areas of study—university presses (UPs) can be foundational to emerging disciplines; it’s sometimes said that UPs don’t publish books, they curate lists. Next is extraordinary editing, design, and production values. Fourth, presses contribute uniquely to a university’s region through publishing works of community interest—authoritatively documenting the natural and cultural history of a place. Fifth, UPs demonstrate a deep commitment to literary culture through poetry, fiction, and literature-in-translation. Sixth, presses play an ever-evolving role in the presentation and dissemination of scholarship in digital forms, open access platforms, and new media. Finally, UPs keep many books in print and in the discovery stream long after any commercial house would bother. Revenue is important but longevity and contribution are more important.
BT: Why are UPs under stress?
MB: We are part of a larger ecosystem that suffered badly during the 2008 economic downturn. UPs operate in a quasi-business mode that is sometimes difficult for university administrations to appreciate. Publishing books whose primary purpose is not revenue-generation is a scholarly and academic goal that likely needs practical support, be it in terms of subventing personnel costs, providing space and services, or committing otherwise to the financial support of a press’s publishing programs.
BT: What impact will the University of Akron Press’s closing have?
MB: The closing of the University of Akron Press is a symptom of a university in turmoil, not a press in distress. Without a detailed, credible plan for the integration of the Press into the library, and in the context of the broader budget cuts inflicted upon the library, it is hard to imagine either entity will fare well in this merger. Losing one of the nation’s great poetry contests is a devastating blow to the literary community, but Akron is losing its cultural and performing arts center as a result of the same series of budget cuts, so the local community may suffer as much as, or possibly more than, the literary community. For Akron, both the university and the community, this is a dramatic shift away from culture and the humanities, and it is the citizens of the city and the state who will suffer.
BT: How can UPs thrive?
MB: We need to more fully tell our story, communicate our value, to universities, to scholars, to towns, cities, and states, and to readers everywhere. We celebrate University Press Week each November, but all year long each press is cultivating relationships with authors, readers, librarians, booksellers, and university alumni.
