Reference Is Cool

It's been four years since Peter Tobey joined Salem Press as vp of marketing and sales. In that short period of time, he has managed to transform the way Salem does business with libraries. As an editor, I am rarely inspired by how reference content is marketed—unless, of course, the strategy involves producing amusing buttons, dressing up in costumes, proclaiming oneself The Weirdness Activist, and dedicating a sizable portion of the publisher's web site to keeping track of the strangest reference questions ever asked in libraries. I recently caught up with Tobey in a Mexican joint in midtown Manhattan to chat about Salem and all things reference.

In a handful of years, Salem's prospects seem to have improved.

Like many others, we experienced challenging times following the downturn of 2000 and the events of 9/11. However, since 2005 we've enjoyed double-digit, year-over-year growth. LJ reviews have been phenomenal as well. We're thrilled.

Your purchase model is bold. Why does it make sense at this time to ask librarians to own both formats?

Salem's new purchasing model recognizes a simple truth: libraries purchase content, not books. This has always been the case, I think, but it has never been so obvious as it is now. The rise of online use of library resources makes this dramatically clear. So, Salem has developed an online platform that delivers its print content online. What's unusual about our product is we deliver both media, not one or the other. Our health and historical databases are free with the purchase of printed sets. Purchasers of one set of a printed reference work also receive a multiyear license to distribute the content from that set to their students or patrons free.

So print is not disappearing, but how long before it does?

These days the only question you can count on being asked is, "Will print reference survive?" I think so, but not robustly via the model most publishers have adopted. Unlike Salem, many publishers make their content available either in print or online. They are sold as separate products. As a result, their content very effectively competes against itself. Libraries have to choose between the two media because it is almost always prohibitively expensive to purchase both. Over time, given the advantages of electronic media, it will progressively flourish at the expense of print sales. Eventually, in many areas, there won't be enough demand to warrant print production. With the Salem model, however, the hard choice isn't required.

Let's talk competition. Whose strategies make sense to you?

I think it will take time to discover which strategies work online. I'm sure there will be more than one. I will say, though, that Greenwood has one of the most responsive editorial departments anywhere. Which isn't to say there aren't others. But I think Greenwood's approach is a very good one.

Interesting choice, seeing that its content is now owned by ABC-CLIO. We also recently saw SAGE acquire CQ Press. The industry is shrinking. Isn't that troubling?

I don't find the trend necessarily troubling. Potentially, but not necessarily. It depends on the way the acquiring company approaches the talents and assets of the brand it acquires. Consolidation doesn't necessarily result in a shrinking industry. In fact, in some cases it can actually improve the circumstances in which a publisher finds itself. In Greenwood's case, there seems to be a commitment from ABC-CLIO to maintain the quality and quantity of output that made such a strong impression on me in the first place.

Is the question of free use still the issue?

No, it's not. I think reference lives and dies in the marketplace based on the quality of its content and the access that publishers and their partners make available. Good stuff that can be found and used will be found and used a lot. Publishers like Salem are committed to fully vetted, high-quality reference. We produce at a consistent level of editorial excellence and deliver content with very carefully controlled and monitored value. Wikis don't do that. Most user-contributed content sites don't vet their content. We think the function of a library goes beyond access to selection. We think librarians have a responsibility to provide resources that patrons know have been selected for their quality by the experts they know as their librarians.

Tell me more about that Reference is Cool button. Where did it come from?

I think sales communications should be entertaining. So we try to do fun things with our marketing. The Reference Is Cool button evolved from a photograph I stumbled on showing Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller drinking martinis in front of a shelf filled with reference books. That seemed like proof that reference is cool. Who could be cooler than that couple? I posted the photo on Salem's web site, and librarians started sending me additional proof of coolness. Lots of proof. I expanded the web area and anointed myself the "Director of Coolness," which required sunglasses and a hat. Then, we printed up a bunch of these buttons and offered them free to anyone who wanted one. So far, more than 9000 librarians have requested buttons.

Can you send me one? I'd love to display it in my cubicle.

You bet. In fact, anyone who'd like one may just ask. Email, and I'll whisk one to you. Wear it with pride.