Joe Esposito reintroduces the Online Scholars Catalogue proposal, a collaborative online bookstore for scholarly books.

1. Collaborating on an Online
Bookstore for Scholarly Books
Joseph J. Esposito
AAUP Annual Conference
June 2014

2. Topics
• Background on project
• Why another online bookstore?
• What would it look like?
• The place of print
• The issue of architecture
• The Amazon factor
• Roadmap
• How to get this done

3. Background
• Feasibility study funded by Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation several years ago
• Model located for French university presses:
http://lcdpu/fr
• Researched Amazon’s use of vendors
• Basic understanding of necessary
infrastructure is now in hand
• A project in search of a sponsor

4. The Rationale
• More is better
• Disturbing consolidation in industry
• The “Amazon problem”
• Global reach
• Infrastructure becoming more accessible
• Opportunity to gather customer data
• Publisher control of presentation of books

5. UP Bookstore, v. 1.0
• Web catalog of all AAUP member publications
• Print and digital books fulfilled through site
• Publisher-controlled metadata
• Apps for mobile devices
• Subject-area community development
• User data shared with publishers

6. Why Print?
• Still the biggest market
• Easy fulfillment through Ingram or B&T (no
need for the site ever to “touch” a book)
• No need to get publisher permission for site
inclusion (if Ingram or B&T are customers)

7. Platform Architecture
• Requires sophistication
• Store must be “skinnable,” allowing for
multiple sites with different brands
• Subject-area sites
• Option to skin selected titles for individual
press sites
• Lure customers to site, but also bring site to
customers (contextual marketing)

8. What about Amazon?
• Best partner/difficult partner
• Could retaliate
• Will remain superior in tech and customer
programs
• New bookstore complements Amazon; does
not compete head to head (hence the need
for contextual marketing)
• Could make Amazon more aware of scholarly
publishing issues

9. Roadmap
• Begin with basic bookstore online
• Extend to mobile platforms
• Provide skinning opportunities
• Insinuate into different distribution channels,
e.g., library OPACs
• Invite other academic publishers in
• Compile course adoption database
• Ongoing business development

10. How to Get Started
• Need sponsors
• Need vision
• Need CLEAR, DIRECT, AND SWIFT decision-
making process
• Need to seek funding
• Appointment of Executive Director

11. Contact Information
• Joseph J. Esposito
• espositoj@gmail.com
• @josephjesposito
• +Joseph Esposito