Universities’ scholarly publications are turning toward electronic publishing to help them stay relevant in a shrinking market.
But they have yet to figure out how to use this technology to increase revenue.
The transition to electronic publications — such as e-books for Kindle — is meant to help university presses stay competitive. But electronic sales only make up a small portion of revenue.
Kate Douglas Torrey, the director of UNC Press, said the challenge facing university publishers is keeping up with their evolving audience.
Professors, students and libraries have already transitioned toward electronic resources while university presses are still trying to determine a new business model, she said.
UNC Press publishes about 100 books annually, and about 85 to 90 of them are also published online, Torrey said.
“We are publishing nearly all of our books simultaneously in print and digital format,” she said.
As a result, fewer books are being sold by university presses.
Director of the University of Minnesota Press Doug Armato said e-books make up about 5 percent of the press’ budget.