Beating a weak market by going digital
Kate Wilcox
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: News
NYU Press is working on building a digital publishing program that will allow NYU faculty to publish their works online, according to NYU Press director Steve Maikowski.
The company has traditionally served as the university's publishing company for small circulation and academic publications. NYU faculty only represent 10 percent of authors published by NYU Press. Most of the published authors are junior professors.
But in an world that is becoming increasingly digital, smaller publishing companies like NYU Press are having trouble generating revenue, Maikowski said.
In recent years, NYU Press has had to cut back on faculty publications because scholarly works like dissertations and conference proceedings are not marketable to the increasingly smaller audience of book buyers, such as libraries.
"There is a lot of great work being done out there," Maikowski said, who lamented the fact that his budget no longer provides a safe haven for faculty and scholars.
According to Maikowski, many libraries have experienced a decrease in funding, leading them to buy very small numbers of only the most marketable books from publishers like NYU Press.
NYU Press has hired a scholarly communications officer to run the digital publishing program, Maikowski said.
"This program was started to have NYU Press be more service-oriented," Maikowski said. "It will mostly be scholars talking to other scholars."
Maikowski said he hopes the digital publication of faculty works could lead to new book and story ideas for NYU Press.
Last year, NYU Press brought in $4 million from the 175,000 books it published. But its operating costs are about $4.4 million per year, a difference made up by the university.
The largest drawback to this digital dissemination of information is the lack of peer review, Maikowski said.
The new communications officer has no way of editing or fact-checking the information and works that they will be helping faculty publish on the internet.
NYU Press, however, has an extensive review process that includes a peer review board outside of the NYU Press staff. For a book to be published, it undergoes scrutiny from several academics and an editor.
Although the information is becoming easier to access, the quality may be declining, Maikowski said.
"The most dangerous thing, in a way, is the internet in the hands of a student," Maikowski said. "Some of the information they are reaching has not been credential, not been vetted, not been reviewed and is not credited."
Kate Wilcox is a contributing writer. E-mail her at news@nyunews.com.
The company has traditionally served as the university's publishing company for small circulation and academic publications. NYU faculty only represent 10 percent of authors published by NYU Press. Most of the published authors are junior professors.
But in an world that is becoming increasingly digital, smaller publishing companies like NYU Press are having trouble generating revenue, Maikowski said.
In recent years, NYU Press has had to cut back on faculty publications because scholarly works like dissertations and conference proceedings are not marketable to the increasingly smaller audience of book buyers, such as libraries.
"There is a lot of great work being done out there," Maikowski said, who lamented the fact that his budget no longer provides a safe haven for faculty and scholars.
According to Maikowski, many libraries have experienced a decrease in funding, leading them to buy very small numbers of only the most marketable books from publishers like NYU Press.
NYU Press has hired a scholarly communications officer to run the digital publishing program, Maikowski said.
"This program was started to have NYU Press be more service-oriented," Maikowski said. "It will mostly be scholars talking to other scholars."
Maikowski said he hopes the digital publication of faculty works could lead to new book and story ideas for NYU Press.
Last year, NYU Press brought in $4 million from the 175,000 books it published. But its operating costs are about $4.4 million per year, a difference made up by the university.
The largest drawback to this digital dissemination of information is the lack of peer review, Maikowski said.
The new communications officer has no way of editing or fact-checking the information and works that they will be helping faculty publish on the internet.
NYU Press, however, has an extensive review process that includes a peer review board outside of the NYU Press staff. For a book to be published, it undergoes scrutiny from several academics and an editor.
Although the information is becoming easier to access, the quality may be declining, Maikowski said.
"The most dangerous thing, in a way, is the internet in the hands of a student," Maikowski said. "Some of the information they are reaching has not been credential, not been vetted, not been reviewed and is not credited."
Kate Wilcox is a contributing writer. E-mail her at news@nyunews.com.
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