ANNUAL MEETING
The AUPresses 2023 Annual Meeting was held virtually over two weeks, June 5-6, 8-9, 12-13, and 15-16, 2023 with two time blocks each day to try to accommodate as many time zones as possible. Recordings of the sessions were available to attendees shortly after sessions ended through January 2024.
The 2023 Annual Meeting Program Committee, co-chaired by Hope LeGro (Georgetown) and Cameron Ludwick (Texas), developed a robust program with 3 plenaries and 49 concurrent sessions.
Highlights of AUPresses 2023, which was attended by a record 1,080 individuals , included an opening plenary with Jeremy Young, PEN America, Program Director, Freedom to Learn, discussing “Educational Censorship and the Work of University Presses;” a mid-program plenary with Mandy Hill, Managing Director, Cambridge University Press presenting on “Leading Change at a University Press;” and a closing plenary with April Baker-Bell, Associate Professor of Language, Culture, and Justice in Education, University of Michigan, discussing “Cultivating a Culture of Linguistic Justice and Equity in Academic Publishing.”
The Professional Development Committee, co-chaired by Nicole Solano (Rutgers) and Bethany Wasik (Cornell), paired 80 mentors and mentees through the AUPresses Mentorship Program, up from the previous year which had 57 pairings.
Seven companies sponsored AUPresses 2023. Vendor Digital Shorts were offered for the first time in place of a virtual exhibit hall. The Vendor Digital Shorts were one- to three-minute pre-recorded presentations aired at the start of some sessions that highlighted recent vendor developments of interest to the university press community. Nineteen spots were purchased, featuring 15 different vendors.
A popular promotion of Buy 3 Get 1 Free was available to AUPresses members. The Association also offered complimentary registration to Ukrainian university presses. Ten publishers were able to take advantage of this opportunity.
DIRECTORS SUMMIT
In April 2023, the Board of Directors made the decision to hold a Directors Summit in-person during years in which the AUPresses Annual Meeting is virtual.
The Association hosted the first biennial in-person Directors Summit in Rosemont, IL, at the Big Ten Conference Center in October 2023, with 65 Press Directors and Board Members in attendance. The Summit kicked off with an opening dinner and talk from guest speaker Jeff Deutsch of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores. A full day of programming began the next morning. The Summit was focused on joint problem-solving in response to trends raised in the Fall 2022 Constituency Calls, such as vendor consolidation, material and staffing cost increases, economic contraction in higher education, and government public and open access policies. The Summit was dedicated to knowledge sharing about each “headwind” area, with one hour breakout groups for discussions. Breakout rooms on each topic took up the questions, “What are the trends you are seeing in this sector?” and “What are strategies you are adopting to engage with these?” After the breakout groups reconvened, the entire group spent thirty minutes reporting back on their discussions.
The second day was a half-day focus group for Press Directors who wish to explore the business and operational challenges—and opportunities—presented by the ever-increasing array of funder mandates for open/public access.
WEBINARS FOR MEMBERS
The following webinars were held to share information and resources. These are available to our member presses in the Webinar Library on our Resources website.
Maximizing Your Press’s EDP Workflow: Image Processing, MS Word, and Metadata
In May 2023, AUPresses Editorial, Design, and Production (EDP) Committee hosted a webinar discussion on ways to enhance productivity within various facets of the editorial, design, and production workflow. The panelists answered the question “within the EDP framework how do we do maximize our time with the tools available to us?” with step-by-step, day-to-day advice on managing tasks with efficiency. Panelists included Ryan Morris (SUNY), Amy Sherman (Pittsburgh), Lee Willoughby-Harris (Duke). Moderated by Jason Gosnell (Marine Corps). The session drew 131 attendees.
Making Books Accessible: A New Guide
AUPresses invited Bill Kasdorf to host a webinar in January 2024 on the new guidelines published by the Association for making books accessible. The guidelines, written in clear, non-technical language, provides background information to help clarify the difference between accessibility standards, specifications, and regulations, and how best to comply with them. It also groups issues into categories that can help presses determine where in the editorial and production workflow they can best be addressed; provides a one-page checklist to track which issues have been addressed and which remain to be dealt with in the course of a book’s development and production; and provides an extensive appendix with a wealth of authoritative resources useful to presses on their accessibility journey. Hosted by Bill Kasdorf (Kasdorf & Associates, LLC), the session drew 182 attendees.
Navigating Legal Issues in Nonfiction Works About Real People
In February 2024, the AUPresses Intellectual Property and Copyright Committee, in collaboration with the Authors Alliance, hosted a webinar discussion on writing nonfiction works about real people. Featuring the Authors Alliance in discussion with AUPresses editors who have navigated this issue in working with authors, the session was based in part on the Authors Alliance’s newly published open access legal guide, “Writing About Real People,” which is part of its larger series of guides on legal issues for authors. The webinar reserved substantial time for audience Q&A. Panelists included Rachel Brooke (Authors Alliance), Lorri Hagman (Washington), Dave Hansen (Authors Alliance), Casey Kittrell (Texas), Ann Regan (Minnesota Historical Society). Moderated by Aurora Bell (South Carolina). This session drew 76 attendees.
Social Media Beyond Marketing
In April 2024, the AUPressses Professional Development Committee and Faculty Outreach Committee hosted a webinar discussion on social media, and the opportunities it provides for UP professionals to connect with colleagues in the industry as well as scholars. In this webinar, panelists chatted about how to use social media platforms from LinkedIn to TikTok to the platform formerly known as Twitter to build professional networks, promote a press’s work, and educate a broader audience about what we do in UP publishing. Panelists included Rebecca Colesworthy (SUNY), Freya Gowrley (Bristol), Kishonna Gray (Kentucky), Ashley Kole (Cornell). Moderated by Jenny Keegan (Louisiana State) and Bethany Wasik (Cornell), this session drew 81 attendees.
How Abstract and Citation databases help research journals improve international impact
The AUPresses Journals Committee hosted a webinar discussion on abstract and citation databases, important channels for researchers to find trusted data and decide where to publish their work. In this webinar, panelists shared how journals can get ready for Scopus, a source-neutral abstract and citation database used by millions of global researchers. Panelists hoped this preparation journey gave tips on how to improve the international impact for journals, and how to promote inclusion and diversity in practice in the scholarly community. Panelists for this April 2024 session included Wimm Meester (Elsevier) and Tracy Chen (Elsevier). The session drew 18 attendees.
PUBLIC AND SPONSORED WEBINARS
In 2023-24, the Association hosted a series of webinars presented by sponsors and open to the public on our Vimeo playlist.
Building your D2C community isn’t as easy as you think!
In September 2023, Supadu hosted a webinar on how to effectively grow and engage with an online community; from adding supplemental content; to using an author’s network and knowledge-base; to metadata enrichment; or to simply adding bundles and incentives onto websites. Hosted by Sarah Arbuthnot (Supadu), this session drew 27 attendees.
Unpacking the Open Access Impact on Print Book Sales
AUPresses hosted a webinar on a report published by Ithaka S+R and AUPresses, “Print Revenue and Open Access Monographs: A University Press Study,” as well as its affiliated data set. In October 203, during OA Week 2023, the authors of the study discussed the findings in the report, and shared ideas about how university presses can use the information to develop sustainable OA monograph publishing solutions. Introductions were made by Peter Berkery (AUPresses) and the session was moderated by Brenna McLaughlin (AUPresses). Panelists included Laura Brown (Ithaka S+R), Roger Schonfeld (Ithaka S+R), John Sherer (North Carolina), Erich Van Rijn (California). The session drew 90 attendees.
Waving a wand for quick wins and sustainable growth!
Supadu hosted a webinar in November 2023 on quick wins for title visibility, websites, direct or social media marketing and/or carts that all needs improving; outlining the benefits of having a one-cart-fits-all approach to eCommerce (physical, digital and audio), and helping publishers with merchant of record tips and pitfalls. Hosted by Sarah Arbuthnot (Supadu), this session drew 16 attendees.
Drive books sales through Smart Buy Buttons and AI
In February 2024, Supadu hosted a webinar on using AI and Smart Buy buttons across all sales and marketing channels to drive engagement and sales. Hosted by Sarah Arbuthnot (Supadu), this session drew 61 attendees.
“LET’S TALK ABOUT…” HANGOUTS
An informal and interactive way to learn more about the topics that interest our community most, the AUPresses “Let’s Talk About…” Hangout series offers lively discussions with plenty of opportunity for Q&A. Association committees organize these sessions. They are available through our member Resources site.
This year’s “Let’s Talk About…” series featured conversations addressing case studies in fair use and fair dealing, mid-career development networking, how AI is impacting marketing, implementing equity, justice, inclusion, and belonging initiatives within editorial, design, and production, workflows and strategies around enhanced digital editions, and making journals content accessible.
ART OF ACQUISITIONS HANGOUTS
Developed by the AUPresses Acquisitions Editorial Committee, the Art of Acquisitions Hangouts feature lively sessions with moderated panels, active audience Q&A, and concurrent announcements from our official Twitter and Facebook. These sessions address a variety of topics of special interest to the acquisitions community, such as a peer review, mentoring an editor, and working with series editors. They are available on our Acquisitions Editorial Resources site.
RESIDENCY GRANTS
The AUPresses Residency Program provides opportunities for individuals at Association member presses to advance their professional knowledge, strengthen operations at their home presses, and foster professional collegiality throughout the community. Offering staff at member presses intensive, hands-on residencies of up to one week at other member presses, the program is one of the Association’s most effective professional development initiatives, benefitting both host and home presses alike.
The AUPresses Professional Development Committee, which administers the program, selected the following individuals for the 2023-2024 Week-in-Residence Program:
Tyler Balli, Ohio University Press, hosted by Ohio State University Press
Aurora Bell, University of South Carolina Press, hosted by the University of North Carolina Press
Jennifer Bennett-Genthner, SUNY Press, hosted by Gallaudet University Press and Johns Hopkins University Press
Emily Casillas, University of Nebraska Press, hosted by the University of Illinois Press
Andrea Gapsch, Purdue University Press, hosted by Ohio State University Press
DIRECTORS RESIDENCY PROGRAM
Modeled after the Association’s Week-in-Residence Program, this program provides travel funding to directors at smaller member presses to spend a few days visiting with and learning from another member press.
The following individuals were selected to participate in the 2023-2024 AUPresses Directors Residency Program:
Sinéad Neville, Cork University Press, hosted by Liverpool University Press
Beth Bouloukos, Amherst College Press, hosted by University College London
Susan Ferrence, INSTAP Academic Press, hosted by University of Michigan Press
Tim Paulson, University Press of Kansas, hosted jointly by University of North Carolina Press and Duke University Press