The University Press That Doesn’t Exist

As part of austerity measures, the University of Akron eliminated its university press. The director and two staff members were both let go as part of budget-trimming layoffs. The press focused on regionally significant publications that chronicled Ohio history, culture and poetry. As Inside Higher Ed reveals, once people noticed that the press had been eliminated, the University began insisting the press still exists as part of the library system. But librarians are not editors, and nobody at the University as said what will happen to the twenty-five books the press has signed contracts with.