“Developments over the last few decades have changed some of the primary concerns of scholarly book publishers within university presses. The enterprise of publishing remains a vital part of the ecology of the academy, but the future direction of book publishing is unclear. The future is less apocalyptic than some may believe, but there is no question that there are challenges that need to be addressed by the publishing community. Scholarly publishing, along with teaching and research, is one of the key activities of the university. Research increases the sum of human knowledge; teaching trains the new generation of scholars; and publishing makes the results of research available to the wider world. Without publication, the other activities of the university would become even more insular than they are – ideas, particularly the ideas discovered and discussed at universities, need to be published – to be made public in order that their true value be achieved …” (more)
[Bill Harnum, University World News, 5 April]