The University Press in the Twenty-First Century, Darrin Pratt

The University Press in the The University Press in the Twenty-First Century: A View Twenty-First Century: A View

from the Westfrom the West

Darrin Pratt, DirectorDarrin Pratt, Director

University Press of ColoradoUniversity Press of Colorado

Who We AreWho We Are

• 133 total members of the Association of American University Presses (AAUP)

• 31 Western members of the AAUP (23% of total) – 23 university presses within the lower 48– University of Alaska & Hawai’i Presses– 4 Western Canadian university presses– 2 scholarly publishers not associated with universities

(Getty & RAND)

UP Books PublishedUP Books Published

• 1,048 new titles published by Western university presses in 2007

• 5,800 new titles published by all university presses in 2007 (Western presses = 18%)

• 276,649 total new titles and editions published in 2007 (university presses = 2%, West = 0.3%)

Western Members of the AAUPWestern Members of the AAUP

• Abilene Christian Univ Press (1984)• The University of Alaska Press (1967)• The University of Alberta Press (1969)• The University of Arizona Press (1959)• Athabasca University Press (2007)• Baylor University Press (1897)• Univ of British Columbia Press (1971)• University of Calgary Press (1981)• University of California Press (1893)• University Press of Colorado (1965)• Eastern Washington Univ Press (1992)• Getty Publications (1982)• University of Hawaii Press (1947) • University of Nevada Press (1961)• University of New Mexico Press (1929)• University of North Texas Press (1988)

• University of Oklahoma Press (1928)• Oregon State University Press (1961)• RAND Corporation (1948)• Rice University Press (2007)• Southern Methodist Univ Press (1937)• Stanford University Press (1925)• University of Texas Press (1950)• Texas A&M University Press (1974)• TCU Press (1966)• Texas Tech University Press (1971)• Texas Western Univ Press (1952)• University of Utah Press (1949)• Utah State University Press (1972)• University of Washington Press (1909)• Washington State Univ Press (1927)

Founding DatesFounding Dates

• The oldest university press in the country is Johns Hopkins University Press (1878)

• The oldest Western university press is the University of California Press (1893)

• University Press of Colorado (1965)

Founding Dates (cont.)Founding Dates (cont.)

• Prior to 1900 2 (6%)

• 1900–1924 1 (3%)

• 1925–1949 8 (26%)

• 1950–1974 13 (42%)

• 1975-1999 5 (16%)

• 2000+ 2 (6%)

Total 31

Western Members of the AAUPWestern Members of the AAUPby Founding Dateby Founding Date

• University of California Press 1893• Baylor University Press 1897• Univ of Washington Press 1909• Stanford University Press 1925• Washington State Univ Press 1927• University of Oklahoma Press 1928• Univ of New Mexico Press 1929• S. Methodist Univ Press 1937• University of Hawaii Press 1947 • RAND Corporation 1948• University of Utah Press 1949• University of Texas Press 1950• Texas Western Univ Press 1952• The Univ of Arizona Press 1959• University of Nevada Press 1961• Oregon State Univ Press 1961

• University Press of Colorado 1965• TCU Press 1966• The Univ of Alaska Press 1967• The Univ of Alberta Press 1969• Univ of British Columbia Press 1971• Texas Tech University Press 1971• Utah State University Press 1972• Texas A&M University Press 1974• University of Calgary Press 1981• Getty Publications 1982• Abilene Christian Univ Press 1984• Univ of North Texas Press 1988• E. Washington Univ Press 1992• Athabasca University Press 2007• Rice University Press 2007

All University Presses by SizeAll University Presses by Size

• Sales up to $1,499,999 31 (44%)

• $1,500,000 - $2,999,999 13 (18%)

• $3,000,000 - $5,999,999 17 (24%)

• $6,000,000 and above 9 (12%)

Total 70

*Just 70 presses who reported to annual statistics

Western University Presses by SizeWestern University Presses by Size

• Sales up to $1,499,999 9 (52%)

• $1,500,000 - $2,999,999 2 (11%)

• $3,000,000 - $5,999,999 5 (29%)

• $6,000,000 and above 1 (5%)

Total 17

*Just 17 Western presses who reported to annual statistics

Western Members of the AAUPWestern Members of the AAUPby Sizeby Size

Up to $1,499,999 • The Univ of Alberta Press (1969)• University of Calgary Press (1981)• Univ Press of Colorado (1965)• University of Nevada Press (1961)• Univ of North Texas Press (1988)• Texas Tech Univ Press (1971)• University of Utah Press (1949)• Utah State Univ Press (1972)• Washington St. Univ Press (1927)

$1,500,000 - $2,999,999• The Univ of Arizona Press (1959)• Texas A&M Univ Press (1974)

$3,000,000 - $5,999,999• University of Hawaii Press (1947)• Univ of New Mexico Press (1929)• Univ of Oklahoma Press (1928)• Stanford University Press (1925)• University of Texas Press (1950)

$6,000,000 and Over • University of California Press

(1893)

With Non-Reporting Presses IncludedWith Non-Reporting Presses Included

• Sales up to $1,499,999 21 (68%)

• $1,500,000 - $2,999,999 3 (10%)

• $3,000,000 - $5,999,999 6 (19%)

• $6,000,000 and above 1 (3%)

Total 31

*Best guesses based on my knowledge of the remaining presses

Our Current ChallengesOur Current Challenges

• Maintaining operational funding

• Making up for declining unit sales

• Dealing with the impact of the digital age

FundingFunding

• The university press business model is not-for-profit

• No university press in the country generates an excess from its book publishing operations alone

Funding (cont.)Funding (cont.)

• 7% = average portion of operating budget from parent institution funding for all presses in 2007

• 30% = average portion of operating budget from parent intstitution funding for small presses (sales under 1.5 million) in 2007

Funding (cont.)Funding (cont.)

• The percentage of state budgets spent on higher education has declined over the past twenty years (www2.nea.org)

Funding (cont.)Funding (cont.)

• 2% decline in average institutional funding for UP’s from 1989-2007– $302,236 per press reported in 1989

– $487,500 per press reported in 2007

– $302,236 = $499,400 in 2007 dollars

Funding (cont.)Funding (cont.)

• Flat as a percentage of operating budget

• All presses:– 1989 = 7%– 2007 = 7%

• Small presses (up to 1.5 million):– 1989 = 28%– 2007 = 30%

Funding (cont.)Funding (cont.)

• 68% of UP’s in the West are the category (sales to 1.5 million) that relies on institutional funding for 30% of their operating budget

• Funding issues have hit Mountain West university presses particularly hard:

– Arizona was the only Mountain West state in the top 25 in terms of state higher education funding across the 50 states in 2007

– University of Idaho Press closed due to lack of funding in 2004

– Utah State University Press currently threatened with loss of funding & closure

Declining Unit SalesDeclining Unit Sales

• Over the past 30-40 years, average unit sales of scholarly monographs have declined precipitously

– 1970s: 2,000-3,000 copies = typical print run/sales

– Today: 300-500 copies =typical print run/sales

– 75%-90% decline in unit sales

– UPC average unit sales:

• 1986-1996: 1,677

• 1997-2007: 719 (57% decline)

Declining Unit Sales (cont.)Declining Unit Sales (cont.)

• Reasons for this decline

– Shrinking academic library market

– Increasing number of books being published in the U.S.: from 37,692 in 1971 to 65,796 in 1997, an increase of 75%

*Note: Bowker has changed their calculation method twice since 1997 (in 1998 and 2003 or 2004), so 2007 reported output of 276,649 can’t be directly compared

*For more detail on the above, see Books in the Digital Age by John B. Thompson (Polity Press, 2005)

University Press Sales 1989-2007University Press Sales 1989-2007

• 16% decline in net sales ($$) from 1989-2007 (adjusted for inflation), all presses– Small group (up to 1.5 million) only category

to show an increase (8%) when adjusted for inflation over the same period

– Group 3 (sales of 3-6 million) hardest hit with a 21% decrease when adjusted for inflation over the same period

Open AccessOpen Access

• Movement toward Open Access began as an effort to combat high pricing on STM journals

• University presses can’t afford to give away content: 83% of budget, on average, comes from sales revenue

• Journals programs at university presses particularly threatened

Open Access (cont.)Open Access (cont.)

• Ave. total cost of a new book at UPC = $36,000

• Average print bill = $5,000

• Ave. cost of peer review, editorial, production, distribution, and marketing = $31,000

• Ave. institutional funding per new title = $7,000

• Average sales required to break even = $29,000 (81% of total per book cost)

Our OpportunitiesOur Opportunities

• Strength of regional publishing

• Cooperative ventures

• Digital experiments and initiatives

Regional Publishing / TourismRegional Publishing / Tourism

• National Parks– Yellowstone Story, Volume 1(#9)– Geysers of Yellowstone (#10)– Explorer’s Guide to Death Valley National Park (#11)– Yellowstone Story, Volume 2 (#19)

• Gift Shops– Rocky Mountain Flora (#2)– Colorado Flora (#7)– Mammals of Colorado (#13)– Amphibians and Reptiles of Colorado (#21)

Cooperative arrangementsCooperative arrangements

• University of California Press (system-wide)

• University Press of Colorado (consortium of 8 universities and colleges)

• University of Nevada Press (system-wide)

• Texas A&M University Press (marketing and distribution consortium for 8 Texas presses)

Cooperative Arrangements (cont.)Cooperative Arrangements (cont.)

• Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is currently funding cooperative publishing enterprises at university presses in the United States oriented around the publication of first monographs in underserved fields

• 4 cooperative monograph ventures funded in early 2008:– Slavic Studies: University of Wisconsin Press, Northwestern University

Press, and the University of Pittsburgh Press;– American Literatures: New York University Press, Fordham University

Press, Rutgers University Press, Temple University Press, and theUniversity of Virginia Press;

– South Asian Studies: Columbia University Press, the University ofCalifornia Press, and the University of Chicago Press;

– Ethnomusicology: Indiana University Press, Kent State UniversityPress, and Temple University Press

Digital Initiatives & ExperimentsDigital Initiatives & Experiments

• Rice University Press (born digital)

• Athabasca University Press (born digital)

• Mellon funded digital experiments:– Journal of the Society of Architectural

Historians (2008)– Archaeoinformatics.org (2009)

Digital Initiatives (cont.)Digital Initiatives (cont.)

• University Press of Colorado lead on Archaeology of the Americas Digital Monograph project that includes 4 Western presses– University Press of Colorado– Texas A&M University Press– University of Alabama Press– University of Arizona Press– University of Florida Press– University of Utah Press