UGA Press thinks ahead to stay afloat

The University of Georgia Press and other college publishers across the country are fighting two economic challenges to their survival.

Many university presses are getting less money from colleges because of reductions in state funding and shrinking revenue from investments. The presses also face the same problems as commercial publishers, with adults buying fewer books because they’re focusing on the Internet and television.

While some university presses have laid off staff, the UGA press is in a healthier position because of work started several years ago.

It started a fund-raising advisory board in 2004 to offset reductions in state funding, said Nicole Mitchell, director of UGA Press. The group also is negotiating with about half a dozen e-vendors to publish books online through digital content.

“We have been positioning ourselves to be ready for the challenges happening in our industry and the new trends,” Mitchell said. “We all have to make the changes that are necessary because of what’s going on.”

Founded in 1938, the UGA press started as a publishing house for faculty members.

It has since gained a national and award-winning reputation in several areas, including geography, environmental studies, creative works and American, Southern and African-American literature and history. Earlier this year the press was one of three selected to share a $648,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Today the press publishes about 75 new books a year and has more than 1,000 titles in print. It employs 24 full-time staff members who basically do everything except the actual printing of the books, Mitchell said.

The UGA Press has reduced expenses by cutting travel and finding cheaper ways to print books, Mitchell said.

It is releasing more titles through “print on demand” rather than conventional printing. Print on demand allows a customer to order a specific number of books. Mitchell said this allows the press to avoid printing excess books that may not be sold.

The process has been around for about 15 years, but Mitchell said recent technological developments have improved the quality of these books.

Mitchell said the press is negotiating contracts with about half a dozen e-vendors because of the demand for digital books. Earlier this year they reached an agreement with Amazon Kindle to publish “Georgia Odyssey: A Short History of the State” by James C. Cobb. The goal is to make 100 titles available in an electronic format this coming year, she said.

Brenna McLaughlin, electronic and strategic initiatives director for the Association of American University Presses, said more presses are relying on print on demand and publishing electronic versions of the books.

The hope is these strategies will save money and boost interest at a time when sales have dropped by about 10 percent nationwide, McLaughlin said.

Mitchell said the press is still closing books for the current fiscal year that ends June 30. The group had declining sales for April and May, but rebounded in June, she said.

For some presses the situation is dire.

Eastern Washington University Press is being phased out and presses at Utah State University and Louisiana State University are facing possible cuts. In December, the State University of New York Press announced five layoffs.

“Things are kind of evolving as we all find our footing, but I think we’ll get settled soon,” McLaughlin said. “I hope we get there in one piece or at least in a few good pieces.”

UGA Provost Arnett Mace said there is “tremendous support” for the press. Still, he said it faced budget reductions like other divisions.

The group’s budget for the 2010 fiscal year is about $2.73 million, Mitchell said. About 26 percent of the money comes from the state, about 9 percent comes from fund-raising efforts and the remainder comes from sales, she

said.

What happens next, Mace said, depends on whether the college is forced to make additional reductions during the year.

“I seriously doubt we would eliminate the press,” Mace said. “But if we have to make cuts, they may have to do some downsizing.”