University presses shouldn’t panic about the state of the industry, but rather view it as entering a new phase, Georgetown University Press director Richard Brown said as he assumed the presidency of the Association of American University Presses (AAUP).

Brown became AAUP president June 19 for a one-year term.

”Just a few years ago there was a sense of shock and awe at the new digitalization culture, but now university presses are embracing it,” Brown said. “The association offers expertise, advice, moral support and, most importantly, successful business models to help our members engage further with digitalization.”

As president, Brown will serve as the association’s chief advocate of university presses and work with a board of directors to establish and carry out the association’s goals.

Natural as the Air We Breathe

As many scholastic publishers fight to survive, Brown said the state of the industry is too often framed as a crisis situation.

“This is not a crisis, but a transition – a perpetual state of transition that will become, over time, as natural as the air we breathe,” Brown said in his address at AAUP’s June meeting in Salt Lake City.

He urged university presses to address three areas – economic, social and cultural. Presses must find new ways to make money, Brown said, pointing to opportunities for digitized content. Revenue from digital content continues to climb rapidly for publishers, according to recent AAUP sales figures.

“But we also must make people realize that free access isn’t free. These efforts cost money and presses need support from parent institutions to make sure costs are covered,” Brown added.

He said stronger partnerships with both academic communities, especially libraries, and for-profit ventures may balance providing open access to material with revenue concerns.

Brown has served as director of Georgetown University Press since 2001. He began his work in publishing as an editor at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia and then spent nine years in religion publishing, including at Pilgrim Press.

During his tenure at Georgetown, Brown has bolstered the university press’ reputation in core subject areas such as languages and linguistics, international affairs and public policy. Established in 1964, Georgetown University Press annually publishes approximately 40 books and two journals.

-- Lauren Burgoon

(July 20, 2010)