Amid Declining Book Sales, University Presses Search for New Ways to Measure Success

The University of Michigan Press, like many university presses these days, is facing two realities.

First, there is the perception of the press as an innovator in its field. It is recognized as one of the first to argue that university presses can better serve the needs of scholars by working with their own university libraries, applauded for its commitment to accessibility in digital publishing and respected for its participation in projects that aim to transform scholarly publishing.

Then there is the economic reality of being a university press in 2016. The press shared sales data stretching back to 2005 and strategy documents with Inside Higher Ed, showing its core business — print monograph sales — is crumbling away with no clear revenue source to replace it. Used and rental books are eating into the press’s textbook sales. Returns on ebook sales are downright alarming.