‘We publish scholarship’

After 52 years, the IU Press’ mission remains ‘adding to the body of human knowledge’

By Susan Williams

For example, founded by the IU Board of Trustees at the recommendation of President Herman B Wells in 1950, IU Press publishes about 150-160 new books per year or about three per week. The press has about 1,700 books in print and has published over 5,000 since its founding. It also publishes 15 journals.

It’s first book?

"Our first book, published almost exactly a year after founding, was Edouard de Montulé’s Travels in America, 1816-1817, translated by Edward Seeber, an IU professor of French," said Leone, who goes by Peter-John or Peter. "This was followed shortly by Poet of the People: An Evaluation of James Whitcomb Riley, by Jeannette Covert Nolan, Horace Gregory and James T. Farrell, a very appropriate book for us to publish. We printed four more titles in our first year."

A newcomer by IU Press standards—he is only its third director in 52 years—Leone came to IU in January 2000 after working with the North American Branch of Cambridge University Press since 1983. With a geology undergraduate degree from Brown, he worked his way up from editorial assistant to science acquisitions editor and marketing manager for science books. He became marketing director for the North American Branch and then publishing director before coming to IU.

Reader, read on! Let your appreciation for IU Press grow.

What are the differences between a university press and a commercial press?

"The main difference is philosophical. The primary purpose of the IU Press is to inform the world’s population and to add to the body of human knowledge. In other words, we publish scholarship. Entertainment value and profit potential are not primary motivations. That doesn’t mean that our books and journals can ‘t be entertaining or profitable, but these aren’t their primary purposes.

"In practice, this means that our first considerations, above all others, are: does this manuscript contribute to new knowledge, is it intellectually stimulating and will it have lasting value?"

As a state university press, Leone said, "we believe it is part of our mission to help the people of Indiana learn about the history and culture of our state. That is why, in addition to our scholarly publishing, we are the state’s largest regional publisher. These books, by the way, can also be some of our most entertaining and informative.

"From a functional point of view, there is practically no difference between a commercial press and us. We make and sell books and journals in much the same way," he said. "Of course, we don’t have to pay shareholders, and we pass along any savings we can to the consumer in the form of lower prices.

A lot of people think that university press books are all very low print run money-losers. In fact, IU Press has some books that have sold hundreds of thousands and would make any commercial publisher jealous. Every year, we have some books we print in quantities of 5,000 to 10,000. However, we also print books in quantities of 500 to 1,000, and this is something that a commercial house would not approach. We do it because these particular works are important to scholarship."