RE: another library/press merger

[Sandy Thatcher <sgt3@psu.edu>]

The Ithaka Report from a few years back provided a good 
explanation of the synergies between libraries and presses that 
make this a sensible strategy, but the Report also noted that 
there is no "one size fits all" solution for every university. 
Some presses, like California, work closely with their libraries 
without being administratively joined; others are 
administratively joined, but collaborate very little. 
Collaboration is probably more important than administrative 
merger.

Sandy Thatcher
Penn State University Press


> Yes, it does appear to be.
>
> Sandy, you have been a keen observer and participant - and one of
> the most influential ones - of publishing by university presses.
> Why this trend? Admittedly, many of the university presses are a
> "financial drain" (and they do not need to be) and the provost
> does not need another problem area to deal with directly, but is
> this the appropriate solution for the long-term?
>
> Nawin Gupta
> INFORMED PUBLISHING SOLUTIONS, INC.
> nawin@nawingupta.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
> [mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Sandy Thatcher
> Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 5:49 PM
> To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
> Subject: Re: another library/press merger
>
> There seems to be a trend here....
>
> November 03, 2009
> Utah State U. Press to Merge With Library
>
> Utah State University Press, whose future looked uncertain earlier this
> year, will merge with the university's library, Utah State announced on
> Monday. The move "will result in significant savings," said Richard Clement,
> dean of libraries, and move Utah State down the path toward digital
> publishing and open access already taken by the University of Michigan at
> Ann Arbor when it reorganized its press as a unit of the library.
>
> Sandy Thatcher
> Penn State University Press (which became part of the Libraries in December
> 2005)