This document discusses challenges facing university presses in sustaining and reimagining the monograph format. It outlines some of the key challenges like lack of support, library budget cuts, and humanities scholars hesitancy to experiment with open access models. The document also highlights some new models and initiatives university presses are taking to address these challenges, such as open access publishing platforms and projects, discovery programs, and collaborations between presses. Overall, the document examines how university presses are innovating in their efforts to continue supporting high-quality scholarly monographs.

1. S U S TA I N I N G ( A N D R E I M A G I N I N G )
T H E M O N O G R A P H
BY LISA BAYER, AUPRESSES PRESIDENT OCTOBER 20, 2021

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May 2018
SUSTAINING (AND REIMAGINING) THE MONOGRAPH
THE ASSOCIATION’S MISSION
AUPresses advances the essential role of a global community of publishers whose mission is to
ensure academic excellence and cultivate knowledge.
The Association envisions a world that values the many ways that scholarship enriches societies,
institutions, and individuals.
Together, we are a community of publishing professionals and institutions committed to the
highest caliber of research-based scholarship. Together, we advocate for the fundamental role of
scholarly publishing in achieving academic excellence and in cultivating and disseminating
knowledge.
A S S O C I A T I O N O F U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S E S

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3 A S S O C I A T I O N O F U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S E S
My strategy is looking for new opportunities to make our
content available and partnering with companies with the
infrastructure to reach new channels. . . . Digital sales to
libraries have increased significantly, and we don't have
the resources to create our own platform like some bigger
university presses.
—Fred Nachbaur, Fordham University Press

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4 A S S O C I A T I O N O F U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S E S
MEDICAL BONDAGE: RACE,
GENDER, AND THE ORIGINS
OF AMERICAN GYNECOLOGY
by Deirdre Cooper Owens
• Published 2017
• Library cloth, 1,276 copies
• Paperback, 11,701 copies
• Ebook, 918 copies
• Knowledge Unlatched, 2017
S U S T A I N I N G ( A N D R E I M A G I N I N G ) T H E M O N O G R A P H
I M A G E H E R E

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• Lack of support
• Library budget cuts
• Humanities scholars hesitant to experiment with Open
Access
• Fragile humanities infrastructure
• Supply chain disruptions
• Legacy systems that don’t support OA metadata
5 A S S O C I A T I O N O F U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S E S
CHALLENGES
S U S T A I N I N G ( A N D R E I M A G I N I N G ) T H E M O N O G R A P H

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• Sixty-one percent of
respondents reported
having published some
OA book material
• The push for OA is
coming from a diverse
group of stakeholders,
including librarians,
faculty, authors, and
administrators.
• The biggest concern for
most presses is the
funding model.
• OA is not confined to
experimentation with
backlist books.
6 A S S O C I A T I O N O F U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S E S
Select Key Findings in
AUPresses Open Access Survey
(January 2020)
S U S T A I N I N G ( A N D R E I M A G I N I N G ) T H E M O N O G R A P H

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SUSTAINING (AND REIMAGINING) THE MONOGRAPH
NEW MODELS: WORKFLOWS AND PLATFORMS
• Greenhouse Studios, University of Connecticut and University of
Massachusetts Press
• Manifold, University of Minnesota Press
• Ravenspace, University of British Columbia Press and University of Washington
Press
• Sustainable History Monograph Pilot, Longleaf Services
A S S O C I A T I O N O F U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S E S

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S U S T A I N I N G ( A N D R E I M A G I N I N G ) T H E M O N O G R A P H
8 A S S O C I A T I O N O F U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S E S
GEORGIA OPEN HISTORY
LIBRARY
• NEH Humanities Open Book grant
• UGA Press (PI) and UGA Libraries
• Primary documents and scholarly studies
• Open digital editions with new scholarly forewords
• Universal Design for Learning for accessibility
• Scholarly Advisory Board and Program Partners
I M A G E H E R E

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SUSTAINING (AND REIMAGINING) THE MONOGRAPH
NEW MODELS: DISCOVERY
• Fund to Mission, Michigan Publishing
• Direct to Open program, MIT Press
• Opening the Future (Liverpool University Press and COPIM)
• TOME (ARL, AAU, AUPresses)
A S S O C I A T I O N O F U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S E S

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1 0 A S S O C I A T I O N O F U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S E S
[University presses] function as a network of innovative
laboratories for scholars. . . . They also increasingly incubate
sophisticated inter-institutional collaborations, purpose-building
platforms, and practices responsive to the changing needs of
scholars and knowledge itself.
—Charles Watkinson and Melissa Pitts, “Re-imagining Humanities Infrastructure,” Inside
Higher Education, 2/22/21