Re: Orphans, etc.

[Sandy Thatcher <sandy.thatcher@alumni.princeton.edu>]

Jean-Claude seems to think the financial constraints for 
university presses constitute a "temporary" and perhaps just 
acute condition. Rather, I'd say, the condition is chronic, and i 
would remind him that university press administrators began 
talking in terms of "crisis" way back in the early 1970s (in a 
series of three articles that appeared in the Canadian J. of 
Scholarly Publishing). Perhaps Canadian presses are more 
generously supported by their universities than most U.S. presses 
are. Anyway, the state of affairs to which Alex alluded is not 
going to disappear anytime soon. And we can all hope that the 
condition of the patient, while chronically ill, does not turn 
out to be terminal!

Sandy Thatcher


At 10:23 PM -0400 11/1/11, Jean-Claude Guedon wrote:
>I confess I am a little puzzled by Mr. Holzman's reaction.
>
>I am fully aware of the financial constraints under which 
>university presses labour, and recognize the degree to which 
>pragmatic imperatives may be imposing themselves a little too 
>often. But one could still be "regretfully" pragmatic; one could 
>still declare one's adherence to higher principles and justify 
>adopting more practical strategies on particular, and hopefully 
>temporary, situations. That, I would understand and I know many 
>U. Presses are managed in precisely that spirit, for example at 
>my university. But when I hear financial concerns expressed in 
>such a way as to appear to trump everything else, I think it is 
>time to point out the worrisome nature of such a behavioural 
>compass.
>
>As for lacking civility, I suspect the moderator would have put 
>a stop to my message, had it reflected such insensitivity. I 
>simply referred to values other than financial that appeared 
>important to me. And saying that print transformed documents 
>into commodities is a well-known and widely accepted thesis 
>among historians of printing.  And, I should add, Joe Esposito's 
>wit is indeed a welcomed relief. Sorry about Henry James, Joe... 
>I simply did not know :-)
>
>--
>Jean-Claude Guedon
>Professeur titulaire
>Litterature comparee
>Universite de Montreal