Rice University Press Goes Digital

-- Library Journal, 07/26/2006

Rice University Press (RUP), which closed at the end of 1996, will resume operations as a digital publisher. The effort will be led through its startup phase by Charles Henry, Rice University vice provost, university librarian, and now publisher of RUP. Henry said the decision to revive the press as a digital enterprise was based on both economics and on "new ways of thinking" about scholarly publishing. The new press will operate much like the old one in many ways, Henry said, but with no printing. RUP will use technology provider Connexions to prepare the materials for publication.

Users will be able to access press content online for free, or they can purchase a copy of the book for download through the RUP web site in a variety of formats. Print-on-demand services, also through Connexions, include various options. Also, authors will retain copyright for their works through Connexions' licensing agreement with Creative Commons. And because Connexions is open-source, authors can also freely update or amend their own work. Costs and revenues remain unclear, and RUP must still name a board of directors and an editorial board. "But it's safe to say our startup costs and annual operating expenses will be at least ten times less than what we'd expect to pay if we were using a traditional publishing model," Henry said.