Library-based Publishing in North America: Coming of Age

New Approaches in Library-based Publishing: COASP 2014, Paris, 17 – 19 September

Charles WatkinsonAUL, Publishing, University of Michigan Library

Director, University of Michigan Press

What is happening currently?• Wider context: North America• Local context: Michigan, Purdue

Why are libraries becoming publishers?• To challenge the status quo of scholarly publishing (?)• To meet unmet publishing needs• To educate the next generation of scholars

What’s next?• More Open Access monograph publishing• Richer monograph functionality• More collaborations with university presses

55% of academic libraries in North America developing or implementing a publishing program (79% of ARL).

115 libraries listed in the first Library Publishing Directory, 2014. Increasing to 125 + in 2015.

Library Publishing Coalition founded July 2014. Ca. 60 members.

Wider Context

LPC Directory libraries publish: approximately 400 faculty journals; 175 student journals; 1,000 monographs; 10,000 conference presentations; 100,000 ETDs; 100,000 technical/research reports.

Local Context

Michigan Publishing: 40 staff; approximately 100 books a year; 35 journals; 10 database products; institutional repository (Deep Blue); Print on Demand titles.

Purdue University: 9 staff; approximately 25 books a year; 12 journals; technical reports; conference proceedings; institutional repository (Purdue e-Pubs).

So why are librariesbecoming publishers?

To challenge the status quoThe Institutional Repository as a “publishing platform”

Approximately:• 80,000 items.• 25-35% “original”

publications.• Documents, images,

audio and video files.

• 10 million downloads a year.

To meet unmet publishing needse.g., niche journals

• Deeply important to small communities of scholars.

• Little capacity for author pays models.

• Require only lightweight workflows.

Conference proceedings, technical reports, white papers represent other opportunities.

Niche journals for small academic communities find a sustainable home with library-based publishers.

To educate the next generation

• Publication of student scholarship as a process not just a product.

• Scholarly communication outcomes, e.g., author rights.

• Information literacy outcomes, e.g., ethical citation practices.

58% of Library Publishing Directory libraries publish at least one undergraduate-driven journal.

What’s next?

. . . The future of the Open Access monograph is a big question mark.

More OA monograph publishing• Author

(institution/funder) pays?, e.g., AAU/ARL

• Library pays?, e.g., Knowledge Unlatched

• Freemium. Print sales subsidize Open Access online?, e.g., DCB

Richer monograph functionality

e.g., Hypothes.is allows annotation of and community engagement with Digital Culture Books

• Richly tagged XML for machine readability.

• Additional tools allow interaction with the content.

• Support for multimedia and other data types.

Greater collaboration with UPs2008/9 2010 2012 2014Alberta Alberta Alberta Alberta

Amherst  Arizona Arizona ArizonaCalgary Calgary Calgary Calgary    Cork Cork  Georgia Georgia Georgia      KentuckyMarquette Marquette Marquette Marquette  Michigan Michigan MichiganMIT MIT MIT MITNebraska          New England New EnglandNew York New York New York New York    North Texas North TexasNorthwestern Northwestern Northwestern NorthwesternOregon State Oregon State Oregon State Oregon StatePenn State Penn State Penn State Penn StatePurdue Purdue Purdue PurdueStanford Stanford Stanford StanfordSyracuse Syracuse Syracuse Syracuse  Temple Temple TempleTexas Christian Texas Christian Texas Christian Texas ChristianUtah Utah Utah Utah  Utah State Utah State  

West Virginia

• 27% of North American university presses report to libraries.

• (There does not need to be a reporting relationship for collaboration to exist.)

• The types of collaborations are becoming more strategic in nature.

Thank You

Charles Watkinson

watkinc@umich.edu

734 936 0452