1. The University Press in theThe University Press in the
Twenty-First Century: A ViewTwenty-First Century: A View
from the Westfrom the West
Darrin Pratt, DirectorDarrin Pratt, Director
University Press of ColoradoUniversity Press of Colorado

2. 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)

3. 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%)

4. 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)

5. 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)

6. 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

7. Western Members of the AAUPWestern Members of the AAUP
by 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. Western Members of the AAUPWestern Members of the AAUP
by 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)

11. 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

12. Our Current ChallengesOur Current Challenges
• Maintaining operational funding
• Making up for declining unit sales
• Dealing with the impact of the digital age

13. 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

14. 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

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

16. 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

17. 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%

18. 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

19. 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)

20. 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)

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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)

24. Our OpportunitiesOur Opportunities
• Strength of regional publishing
• Cooperative ventures
• Digital experiments and initiatives

25. 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)

26. 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)

27. 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 the
University of Virginia Press;
– South Asian Studies: Columbia University Press, the University of
California Press, and the University of Chicago Press;
– Ethnomusicology: Indiana University Press, Kent State University
Press, and Temple University Press

28. 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)

29. 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