Dive Brief:
- University presses are turning to new technological advancements to help them stay in business while maintaining what some consider a greater calling of "dissemination of scholarship."
- University Business reports one of the most important advancements is the ability to "print on demand," which makes each copy more expensive but reduces warehouse needs, removes the risk of printing hundreds of copies that never sell, and makes investing in new titles less risky, financially.
- E-books have also expanded opportunity by eliminating printing costs, and by extension, open-access publishing provides authors who may never have been published a way to get their ideas out, to a larger audience, leaving special ordered copies to offset editorial and other operational costs.
Dive Insight:
Academic presses have been hard hit by decreasing demand for many titles. The American Association of University Presses told University Business that in just the last 10 years members have seen print runs and sales on key titles drop by more than half.
Some authors are concerned that open-access publishing, offering their books for free, indicates a certain lack of prestige. But when it can get their ideas out to a much larger audience, the payoff may be worth it, especially if it leads to tenure or additional grant funding.
Almost half of university presses answer to chief academic officers, according to the American Association of University Presses, with many of them reporting worry about the financial health of their institutions. This puts greater emphasis on the exploration of new ways to cut costs.