New Analysis From Ithaka S+R: “University Presses in the Age of COVID-19”

From a Blog Post/Analysis: by Laura Brown, Senior Advisor:

Over the past few weeks, Ithaka S+R has conducted conversations with a variety of university press directors to get a sense of how they are faring during this uncertain and challenging time. We spoke with a total of 11 directors representing small, medium, and large presses from public and private universities, all in the US. The discussions were wide ranging, touching on everything from how they were coping with the practical issues around pivoting to a remote workforce, to the broader question of the expected impact of the pandemic on their current and future programs. It should be noted that many of these conversations took place before the killing of George Floyd and the ensuing struggle to address systemic racism that has seized all of us personally and reverberated within our organizations. This too is shaping presses in powerful ways, but we confine this report to our exploration of their responses to the COVID challenge. Here is what we learned from these discussions, starting today with the present circumstances. In a second piece, we will examine how press directors are looking ahead to the future.

Sections in this Blog Post:

• Most Presses are Coping Well with the Move to a Virtual Workforce
• Financial Picture

Direct to Complete Blog Post (approx. 1600 words)

Filed under: Associations and Organizations, News