Utah State University Press Merges Into Library

Move a reaction to budget pressure and effort to pursue digital, OA publishing

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 11/5/2009

• Higher ed cuts threatened press
• Two staffers took buyouts
• New emphasis on digital publication 

After surviving a scenario that could have led to its closure, the Utah State University Press will merge into the Merrill-Cazier Library at Utah State University (USU). Though its output may be somewhat reduced, press staff will aim at more digital and open access publications. The transition is already in process; the new configuration becomes official in July 2010.

USU officials said the move takes advantage of synergies. “Many university presses are moving toward open access, often under the administration of the library,” said Richard Clement, dean of USU Libraries. “The most conspicuous example in the recent past is the University of Michigan Press which moved into the library and is now focusing on OA and other forms of digital publication.”

At the same time, the move is a reaction to fiscal pressure. No longer will the state contribute $165,000 a year to fund 3.75 of 4.75 positions; two staffers have taken voluntary severance and the library will provide administrative support in areas like accounting, IT support, graphic design, and public relations.

“The press was not in financial trouble,” Michael Spooner, director of USU Press, told LJ. “The question has always been to what extent, in the context of serious cuts to the state higher education budget, the university could afford to contribute state monies to support of the press, which is a non-instructional unit. Other non-instructional units were likewise reviewed.” (Spooner wouldn’t specify how much the state support was reduced.) 

“The real point here is not a question of profitability in terms of dollars, but in profitability in terms of scholarly research,” Clement added. “[OA] allows us to publish all worthy scholarly books in all fields and make them freely available to the world of learning. This underlines a commitment from the USU administration and from the USU Libraries to provide the necessary resources to make the USU Press central to the creation and dissemination of new scholarship and research here at USU.”

Press output changes
USU Press, established in 1972, focuses on the fields of composition studies, creative writing, folklore, Native American studies, nature and environment, and Western history, including Mormon history and Western women's history.

It publishes fewer than two dozen books a year. “We’ll reduce the annual number of new titles in print by 15 to 20 percent for starters, then we’ll see what the future allows,” Spooner said.

Clement added, “We are not sure how this will play out in the short term, but we have a strong and directed vision for the future. We expect the USU Press to play a key role in how we create and disseminate digital scholarship at Utah State University.”

As Clement noted, USU Press is hardly the first university press to move into the library. The University of Utah Press has already moved into the J. Willard Marriott Library of the University of Utah, with a new emphasis on digital publishing.

Similarly, the University of Michigan Press earlier this year was merged into the library, with a plan to publish digital monographs in lieu of low-run, high-cost print editions.

Will USU Press make a switch on monographs? “We expect to offer our publications in a range of formats, including digital downloads, open access online, and print editions,” Spooner said. “This is the same approach that Michigan and others are taking.”