Unfortunately, we have had to turn off the ability to post comments to
the articles in The Exchange Online. The volume of comment spam has
grown unmanageable. We will pursue solutions that will open up the
discussion once again, and we do apologize for the current loss of this
feature.
The 2006 Whiting Week-in-Residence Reports
by Michael McCutcheon
Each year mid- and upper-level staff, supported by the AAUP and Mrs. Giles White Foundation, visit other AAUP members to learn from an expert in their field. This year, many of the grantees were interested in the workflow at their host presses, hoping to compare approaches and test methods. After all, it’s only through others that we come to better know ourselves.
In 2006 an electronic editor, an administrative assistant, an art director, an acquisitions editor, and an assistant marketing manager all took advantage of this unique professional development opportunity.
Hope LeGro, Electronic Editor at the Georgetown University Press, visited the much larger University of California Press and spent the week shadowing Laura Cerruti, Acquisitions Editor and Editorial Director for Digital Publishing. LeGro had two goals for the week: “I wanted to see how California is tackling electronic publishing and I wanted to learn about their workflow.” What she found were two interesting models for digital projects. Ms. LeGro noted that in building their digital reference materials, for which there seems to be a natural market, California “decided to focus on a subject that produces revenue and in which they have a strong presence.” It was especially helpful for LeGro to see this model in action as Georgetown is considering something similar, although in a subject that fits their own strengths. Regarding the week-in-residence overall, she noted that, “the biggest asset of the program is the freedom to explore a variety of issues over an extended period of time and in person.”
The University of California Press also hosted another visitor, Patty Van Norman, an Administrative Assistant from Duke University Press. Over the course of the week she met individually with 15 members of California’s staff. This allowed for an inside look not only at the overall workflow and structure of various departments, but also provided the opportunity to discuss individual projects with the staff members assigned to them. Van Norman also attended a production launch meeting and a production department meeting, “both of which gave [her] a great deal of valuable information about how [California] operates and the channels of information between acquisitions, editing, production, and marketing.” At Duke, Patty hopes to offer ideas to improve efficiency and interdepartmental communication based on what she took from the University of California Press. In summing up the exchange, Ms. Van Norman said that in addition to “taking in a great deal of valuable information, I was also able to give information to my host press that may benefit them.”
Marianne Jankowski, Art Director at Northwestern University Press, traveled in the opposite direction to Columbia University Press, where she was most interested in catching a glimpse of the workflow procedures between editorial and design. Once there, it was Columbia’s mastering of XML files and the accompanying time and cost savings that provided the most valuable insights. Jankowski got an inside look at the intricacies of XML and how it plays out in the workflow process as a document goes from raw manuscript, to an XML coded document, to PDF, to the printer. At the end of it all, Ms. Jankowski said, “In conclusion, my observation of [Columbia’s] XML typesetting methods leads me to believe they are frontrunners in this mode of production and that Northwestern University Press, although not poised at this point in time to adopt the same workflow procedures, has gotten a glimpse of the future and can now plan for it.”
Theresa May, Assistant Director and Editor-in-Chief at the University of Texas Press hosted Lisa Chesnel, Acquisitions Editor at SUNY Press. In describing the week, Chesnel said: “I got to ask [Theresa] 101 questions all about UT Press and in return she got to ask me a great deal about SUNY Press.” Throughout the week Chesnel attended three editorial meetings, “all eye-opening experiences,” providing a behind-the-scenes opportunity to compare SUNY and Texas’s different approaches. Chesnel also reviewed Texas’s press-wide database, similar to what SUNY is in the process of creating, and met with their development officer, a position that SUNY is looking to create at their own institution.
Ginger Tucker, Assistant Marketing Manager at the University Press of Mississippi, visited the University of Minnesota Press and Stacy Lienemann, Direct Response and Scholarly Promotions Manager. “I found it very useful to work with a person at another press for an entire week,” Tucker said. “This week became very interactive, and Stacy and I reviewed each other’s programs and asked questions…that in answering enabled us to examine our own programs. I was able to reaffirm some of Mississippi’s standard practices and was able to find alternatives for some others.” As a result of the experience Ginger presented a proposal for changes to their direct mail program based on her week at Minnesota. “In summary, [Mississippi] will be able to incorporate many of the elements of [Minnesota’s] successful direct mail campaigns into our own to create a direct mail program that will help us to locate and reach the audience for [our] books.”
This Week-in-Residence program is one of AAUP’s most successful professional development programs, giving rise to new strategies and a stronger community. In 2006 not only did grantees learn from the experts they shadowed, but host presses got to query their visitors and receive input from an objective outsider. In the words of Lisa Chesnel, “it truly was a professional exchange.”
Michael McCutcheon is the Communications Assistant at AAUP.
Since 1965, the AAUP Book, Jacket, and Journal Show has honored the design and production teams who further a long tradition of excellence in book design, and—through the traveling exhibition and catalog—has visually taught the tenets of good design. Of the 293 books, 335 jackets and covers, and 6 journals that were entered, the 2007 jurors chose 51 books, 32 jackets/covers, and 2 journals as the very best examples of university press design.
The 2007 jury included Linda Gustafson, principal, Counterpunch Book Design; Patricia Curtan, Graphic Designer/Illustrator; John Gall, Vice President & Art Director, Vintage/Anchor Books; and Cameron Poulter, former Design & Production Manager, University of Chicago Press. Lynn Werts, University Press of Florida, chaired the 2007 Design and Production Committee.
Complete details on selected titles, as well as information about the designers and companies who donated time, paper, and printing to the 2007 Show, can be found at http://www.aaupnet.org/programs/marketing/designshow/winners2007.html.
For the first time, an AAUP Pavilion was home to more than ten AAUP member presses at the London Book Fair, held April 16-18. Representatives from seven presses attended in person, ensuring that the meeting tables were almost constantly in use. Foot traffic was steady, but the tables in the well-laid-out booth made it feel more like a mini-rights center than a static display area. After positive reviews from Pavilion attendees, AAUP and Reed Exhibitions are planning to continue the AAUP Pavilion exhibiting option for LBF 2008.
Contact Reed’s Marco Labbate for more information: mlabbate AT reedexpo.com
Discussions of the concept of open access to scholarly information are increasingly marked by highly charged rhetoric and an unfortunate polarization of opinion. In late February 2007, AAUP released a statement outlining the association’s perspective on what has become known as open access, in hopes of steering the debate towards productive solutions that will best serve the entire scholarly community.
The statement sparked a number of active, thoughtful conversations online after it was released, often in response to articles about AAUP’s stance in such media as the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, ACRLog, and the If:book blog.
Read the complete AAUP Statement on Open Access.
Minneapolis, MN
The 2007 AAUP Annual Meeting was a great success, bringing approximately 600 scholarly communications professionals together in the Twin Cities. While the cocktail parties are long over, the knowledge-sharing that the annual meeting is known for continues.
* Talks, session notes, and presentations are available through the AAUPWiki: http://aaupwiki.princeton.edu/
* The inaugural presidential address by Sanford Thatcher, Director of the Penn State University Press and 2007-08 AAUP President is online: http://www.aaupnet.org/programs/annualmeeting/2007/pres.html
* A list of volunteer mentoring contacts was compiled by Laura Westlund (Managing Editor, University of Minnesota Press) and distributed at the Newcomers’ Reception. The list can be accessed by members: http://www.aaupnet.org/members/mentor07.html
NOTE: this is a members-only resource. A member ID and password is needed to access this. Members may request login information here: http://aaupnet.org/pwrequest.html
* MP3 recordings of almost all sessions are also available for purchase: http://www.conferencemedia.net/