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January 29, 2008, 10:39 AM ET
Prospects for University Presses
Each year Book Industry Study Group publishes a report on sales and revenue trends in the publishing industry, and one chapter covers university presses. The 2006 report shows anemic revenue growth from 2004-5 of 1.3 percent — $460 million to $465.8 million. Worse, unit sales actually went down—24.7 million units to 24.5 million units. And the prediction is that through 2010 unit sales will remain flat.
The authors of Trends 2006 note the trajectory and observe that “a number of problems with no immediate solutions persist.” They include: “the diminishing buying power of libraries, the precarious financial state of the presses’ allied universities, and general economic uncertainties” (such as energy prices).
Some libraries are economizing by buying the paperback version of a scholarly book (if it exists) and slapping a cloth cover on it themselves. Some presses see an advantage in trade publishing, especially if the books have a regional attraction. Indeed, the presses surveyed by BISG have 20-30 percent of their offerings as trade titles, which helps their budgets even though trade books have lowered prices. Many presses have typesetting done overseas, while others are experimenting with print-on-demand. Oxford University Press has started blogs oriented around certain books.
Overall, the forecast is gloomy, with one publisher sounding the final note: “But if you want a staid, predictable business model, university press publishing is not the business to be in.”
The 2007 report came out months ago, but hasn’t arrived at my library. Here’s the press release.
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