Scholarly presses in general, and university presses (UPs) in particular, are in trouble. The old 'commercialised' model of scholarly book publishing is not really working anymore: open access has eaten into the revenue from scholarly book sales, and more and more UPs have had to adjust their production processes, gone digital, buy into the latest technologies to be able to produce e-books, enhance their visibility and marketing strategies by including social media, and drastically reduce print-runs. The cost of producing a top-notch scholarly book is high; while returns are low. New technologies such as print-on-demand (POD) as close as possible to the point of sale to minimise printing, warehousing and distribution costs are a must. Some large UPs have been able to make the transition; others have ceased to produce or become but an imprint of a larger publishing house.
Two contrary developments can be observed internationally: On the one hand, there are perceptions in academia of ‘robber capitalism’ on the part of the large commercial publishers as they protect their oligopoly in the face of dissolving spatial barriers and diminishing value add. On the other hand, we are witnessing a contrary trend: the emergence of the knowledge commons. However, this emergence takes place in an institutional context long dominated by an editorial logic and, in more recent times, by the logic of the market.
In the midst of these are African university presses (AUPs) - some over half a century old, others started in the last decade - who have an important mission and unique contribution to make to the African knowledge base. How are AUPs faring under the changed 'market' conditions and contradictory developments of 'robber capitalism' and hyper-marketisation on the one hand, and the emergence of 'social capitalism' and open access knowledge sharing on the other hand? What do they make of the challenges and opportunities presented in the scholarly publishing realm within their contexts? Are they deploying the technological changes in production, distribution and marketing made possible by digitisation and network effects of the internet? Are they surviving, dying or thriving?
A holistic way of approaching the question of how African university presses can reposition themselves in support of the broader shift of some African universities towards a greater focus on research, is to consider shifts in the dominant institutional logic in the academic publishing industry. Based on a baseline survey of university presses in Africa, in-depth case studies of selected university presses, and an analysis of the publishing choices made by African academics, this research project examined the opportunities and constraints faced by university presses in Africa. It provides an overview of the African university press landscape and shows that there is a small, active group of university presses. University presses in Africa are not yet making use of technological advances to reconfigure their production, distribution and marketing processes, nor are they experimenting with new publishing models such as open access. While case studies of selected university presses surfaced unsurprising challenges (such as scarce resources and limited capacity), they also show that university presses in Africa are constrained by institutional logics that are holding them back from experimenting with new ways of doing things. The research also reveals that an alarmingly high number of academic authors at one flagship research university in Africa are choosing to publish monographs with predatory publishers. The report concludes with a set of pragmatic recommendations; recommendations that are simultaneously attuned to the opportunities and to the realities of African university presses as revealed by the research conducted.
The African University Press Report is available for free download here.
