Collaborating on an Online Bookstore for Scholarly Books

Joseph J. Esposito

AAUP Annual Conference

June 2014

Topics

• Background on project

• Why another online bookstore?

• What would it look like?

• The place of print

• The issue of architecture

• The Amazon factor

• Roadmap

• How to get this done

Background

• Feasibility study funded by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation several years ago

• Model located for French university presses: http://lcdpu/fr

• Researched Amazon’s use of vendors

• Basic understanding of necessary infrastructure is now in hand

• A project in search of a sponsor

The Rationale

• More is better

• Disturbing consolidation in industry

• The “Amazon problem”

• Global reach

• Infrastructure becoming more accessible

• Opportunity to gather customer data

• Publisher control of presentation of books

UP Bookstore, v. 1.0

• Web catalog of all AAUP member publications

• Print and digital books fulfilled through site

• Publisher-controlled metadata

• Apps for mobile devices

• Subject-area community development

• User data shared with publishers

Why Print?

• Still the biggest market

• Easy fulfillment through Ingram or B&T (no need for the site ever to “touch” a book)

• No need to get publisher permission for site inclusion (if Ingram or B&T are customers)

Platform Architecture

• Requires sophistication

• Store must be “skinnable,” allowing for multiple sites with different brands

• Subject-area sites

• Option to skin selected titles for individual press sites

• Lure customers to site, but also bring site to customers (contextual marketing)

What about Amazon?

• Best partner/difficult partner

• Could retaliate

• Will remain superior in tech and customer programs

• New bookstore complements Amazon; does not compete head to head (hence the need for contextual marketing)

• Could make Amazon more aware of scholarly publishing issues

Roadmap

• Begin with basic bookstore online

• Extend to mobile platforms

• Provide skinning opportunities

• Insinuate into different distribution channels, e.g., library OPACs

• Invite other academic publishers in

• Compile course adoption database

• Ongoing business development

How to Get Started

• Need sponsors

• Need vision

• Need CLEAR, DIRECT, AND SWIFT decision-making process

• Need to seek funding

• Appointment of Executive Director

Contact Information

• Joseph J. Esposito

• espositoj@gmail.com

• @josephjesposito

• +Joseph Esposito