University Presses Rebound; Find Success in Niche Markets

New Providence, N.J. – June 16, 2005 – R.R. Bowker, the leading provider of bibliographic information in North America, today released statistics on university press publishing compiled from its Books In Print® database. According to Bowker, the nation’s university presses increased their title output 6.3% to 14,484 in 2004, an all-time high. The growth in new titles and editions from university presses was slightly higher than the increase in new offerings from the largest trade houses in 2004, and reversed a 4.3% decline in 2003. Since 1995, new titles from university presses have increased 12.3%.

The engines for growth in 2004 were history, biography and law, accounting for 55% of the increase in new titles from university presses. New history titles increased 19%, biography 22%, and law 15%. Fiction, sociology and economics enjoyed more modest increases, while philosophy, psychology and medicine experienced declines. History accounted for 10.2% of all new books published by university presses in 2004.

The average suggested list price for new hard cover and paperbound titles published by university presses in 2004 was $45.84, a decrease of 14 cents from 2003. Since 2000, the average list price for university press books has declined $4.41. Among individual categories, average list prices increased for biography, business, history, law, literature, medicine, philosophy, psychology and poetry; average prices declined for arts, fiction, language, religion, science, sociology and economics.

According to figures compiled by Monument Information Resource (MIR), a Bowker company that provides sales and market share intelligence for higher education publishing, the top ten university presses accounted for 82% of total sales to the college market by university presses; not including Oxford and Cambridge, the top 10 contributed 34% of total sales. As measured by MIR, university presses accounted for less than 3% of total sales by all publishers to the college market in 2004.

Additional information, including charts, can be found at http://www.bookwire.com/bookwire/university.html

“University presses have always had to operate in uncertain environments,” said Patrick Kenny, for New Providence, N.J.-based MIR. “The best ones have built upon successes in niche markets. Georgetown University Press, for example, has enjoyed double-digit sales growth over the last few years by capturing market share in niches like Arabic language titles. In light of the recent appearance of a Princeton University Press title at the top of the NY Times non-fiction best-seller list, it is worth remembering that even trade publishers have problems consistently succeeding with the trade model.”

The book production figures in this preliminary release are based on year-to-date data from U.S. publishers. If changes in industry estimates occur, they will be reflected in a later published report. Books In Print data represents input from 81,000 publishers in the U.S. The data is sent to Bowker in electronic files, and via BowkerLink®, Bowker’s password protected Web-based tool, which enables publishers to update and add their own data.

Books In Print is the only bibliographic database with more than 5.6 million U.S. book, audiobook, and video titles. It is widely regarded throughout the publishing industry as the most authoritative and comprehensive source of bibliographic data available worldwide, and has been a trusted source of data in North America for over 50 years. Books In Print was designated by Barnes & Noble, Inc., the nation’s largest bookseller, as the database of record for its stores and web site.

Founded in 1872, Bowker is North America’s leading provider of bibliographic information, and is also the official agency for assigning ISBNs in the United States. Summary statistics for U.S. Book Production is available on BookWire®, Bowker’s portal to the book trade, at www.bookwire.com. The company’s flagship product, Books In Print®, is available on the Internet at www.BooksInPrint.com, on CD-ROM, in hardbound print format and as licensed data feeds. Information concerning Monument Information Resource can be located at www.mirdata.com or by calling (877) 430-9494. For more information, please visit www.bowker.com or call 1-888-BOWKER2 (1-888-269-5372).