Affection for PDA—and Its Effect on University Presses

University presses publish plenty of books that are read only by academics. They also publish plenty of books that are read by no one. Inventory research has suggested that as much as half of a library’s holdings never circulate.

“We are very good at figuring out what kinds of books our patrons are going to want,” said Rick Anderson, associate dean for scholarly resources and collections at the University of Utah, at the annual meeting of the Association of American University Presses here on Tuesday.