Bookseller.com: University presses ‘struggling’ in recession
A number of the UK’s university presses are “struggling” to keep their heads above water in the face of the recession and pressure from rising student fees.
There is a move to create a Europe-wide association for university presses, with one of its main aims to support publishers, but it was revealed this week that Middlesex University Press will close by the end of the year.
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Posted in Budgets & Funding, Economics
Tagged Budgets & Funding, economic crisis, Economy, UK, University presses
Inside Higher Ed: Split Over Open Access
In the debate over “open access” to scholarly research, the Association of American University Presses has weighed in on the “anti” side of things, backing legislation that would end a federal requirement that work supported by the National Institutes of Health be available online and free within 12 months of publication.
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Posted in Open access
Tagged Open access, Research, research funding, University presses
The Chronicle News Blog: Louisiana State U. Press Might Get the Ax
Louisiana State University Press, one of the South’s top scholarly publishers, could fall victim to its state’s budget hemorrhage, and supporters are rallying to keep it alive. The Louisiana Legislature wants to slash funds for higher education, and that includes a proposed $40-million cut for the press’s home institution, LSU at Baton Rouge, said Bob Mann, a professor of mass communication there. He also edits a series for the press.
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Posted in Budgets & Funding
Tagged Bud, LSU, University presses
The Guardian: Cambridge University Press: dons step in as digital age threatens jobs at world’s oldest publisher
• Unions take their case to university’s Syndicate
• Management says press was losing £2m a year
College dons have become embroiled in a bitter row over plans to axe more than 150 jobs at Cambridge University Press – the oldest continually operating book publisher in the world.
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Posted in Budgets & Funding
Tagged Budgets & Funding, Cambridge, Job cuts, University presses
The Chronicle News Blog: Employees Revolt Over Layoffs at U. of New Mexico Press
Employees at the University of New Mexico Press learned yesterday that three of their colleagues would be let go at the end of April and that nine more positions — in order fulfillment and customer service — might soon be outsourced. That kind of news is all too common these days. More unusual is what happened next: This afternoon, the employees issued their own press release, alleging that the press’s director, Luther Wilson, was partly to blame for the situation. They also questioned whether outsourcing could solve the press’s financial woes.
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Posted in Protests
Tagged Layoffs, outsourcing, Protests, University presses
Inside Higher Ed: Farewell to the Printed Monograph
The University of Michigan Press is announcing today that it will shift its scholarly publishing from being primarily a traditional print operation to one that is primarily digital.
Within two years, press officials expect well over 50 of the 60-plus monographs that the press publishes each year — currently in book form — to be released only in digital editions. Readers will still be able to use print-on-demand systems to produce versions that can be held in their hands, but the press will consider the digital monograph the norm. Many university presses are experimenting with digital publishing, but the Michigan announcement may be the most dramatic to date by a major university press.
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Posted in Academics
Tagged Books, Budgets & Funding, University presses
St Louis Post-Dispatch: Univ. of MO Press laying off nearly half of its staff
The University of Missouri Press notified 7 of its 18 staff members today that they are being laid off. The layoffs will not take effect for at least a couple of weeks.
The layoffs come in the wake of growing financial losses for the press. Other university presses have also been struggling in recent years. In addition to the staff reductions, the press will also be refocusing its efforts, but the specific changes have not yet been hashed out, said university system spokeswoman Jennifer Hollingshead.
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Posted in Budgets & Funding
Tagged Layoffs, Publications, University presses
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