AAUP 2010: How Did University Presses Do This Year?

Salt Lake City — The fiscal year for university presses is coming to an end. So how did they do in 2010? In a lunchtime address here at the Association of American University Presses’ annual conference, Kathleen Keane, director of the Johns Hopkins University Press, pointed to a collective sense that things could have been worse.

“I think many of us feel a sense of relief that we survived 2010 as well as we did,” Keane told the group. She laid out some of the things that did not go badly for university presses this year. Book contracts were not canceled en masse; online sales grew; and combined 2010 sales of print and e-journals look to be holding steady.

The talk marked the end of Keane’s yearlong tenure as the association’s president. She did not play down the grimmer realities that have faced the university-press world lately. Yes, there was a recession. True, there were library budget cuts. There were layoffs at some presses. But Keane praised the association’s members for their good cheer and for the steps they have taken to tackle the challenges of digital publishing.

Most of the talk on the association’s e-mail lists this past year focused on technology, not hand-wringing, Keane said. “We are beginning to engage the readers of the future through new and emerging channels,” she said. “This is good news.”

Keane reminded the audience that university presses make up only a small portion of the publishing world. That means they are more likely to be the ones adapting to change than dictating it. But “we need to enter this story, and we need to enter this story with speaking parts,” she said. “We need to remain open to all possibilities.”

Keane wrapped up her talk on an optimistic note. With the rise of e-readers and other new ways to reach audiences, she said, “what an exciting time to be in scholarly publishing.”—Jennifer Howard