Thursday, December 6, 1934
Daily Nebraskan
Pago 7
Press wins worldwide acclaim;
sets printing, sales records
By Chris Burbach
Dally Nebrakn Senior Editor
A lot of people dont know it,
but the University of Nebraska
has yet another perennial top-20
finisher. For this team, however,
the words block, run, title and
sell-out have new meanings.
The University Press, accord
ing to criteria of total dollar sales
and number of titles in publica
tion, is now the number 12 press
of its ilk in the United States.
"It (University Press) is tre
mendously successful. We're en
vied all over the country," Editor
in Chief Bill Regier said.
The presses have run since 1 94 1.
University Press has been through
some hard times since then, but
it's prospering now. Its presses
now churn out about 80 books a
year, which return $2.1 million in
sales each year, roughly' double
the 1981 total income. The press
is non-profit. All earnings go back
into operations.
According to Regier, they got
where they are the old-fashioned
way they earned it through
hard work and the able man
agement of Director Dave Gilbert
"Everybody here works real
hard," Regier said. "Every depart
ment of the university says that,
but few really do.
"Production has increased; we
have more books of better quality.
Two such books released this
year are "Dust Bowl Descent," a
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book of photographs compiled by
Bill Ganzel, and "Karl Bodmer's
America." Both books have gar
nered acclaim; the latter has got
ten better review attention than
any book the press has ever done,
Regier said.
Many people readers and
authors identify the University
Press with books like "Dust Bowl
Descent," books that tell the story
of the American West.
"Our bread and butter has been
western America, its history, and
regional subjects," Regier said.In
the 703 there was a vegue for
Indians Life magazine did an
article on Indians, people wore
Indian clothes...""
The press took advantage of
that vogue and earned its repu
tation for work on western Amer
ica. Such speculation is part of
the changing world of most uni
versity presses.
' "Before, a faculty member wrote
a book and the (university) press
reviewed it, made suggestions,
and printed it," Regier said. "But
that's changed. Now, we're no
longer simply printers for the
university we serve more as
advisers for faculty,
'University presses have begun
to establish a list more and more
to specialize ours is the
American West."
While the American West may
be the press' specialty, it cer
tainly is not its sole field.
"We are known for that among
the people who are interested in
RCA, Arista records and
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that field," Marketing Director
Darla Beckman said. 'They may
be unaware that we publish other
books in other fields. We emphas
ize the aspects of our publishing
program that we need to to our
various audiences."
They do indeed "publish other
books." Their catalog of books in
print this year covers 51 pages
with authors and titles, books
ranging from "Among the Mor
mons" to "The Recruiting Game:
Toward New Systems of Intercol
legiate Sports" to a literary criti
cism of Ovid's "Metamorphosis."
The press distribution ranges
as far and wide as its titles do. It
has sales representatives in the
United States and Canada, Eng
land, Europe, the Middle East,
Africa, Asia and the Pacific
salespersons who work on com
mission, and make money doing
it. The press mails its catalogs to
about 40,000 people authors,
booksellers and bookbuyers.
They also recruit authors world
wide a process that, by Regier's
count, accounts for about two
thirds of the books they print
spanning the globe to bring manu
scripts to Nebraska.
"There's a vast segment of the
population th" doesn't know
books exist," Beckman said. "But
among book lovers, we're pretty
well-known."
"We're sometimes told we're the
second-best known part of the
university " Regier said. "The first
is the football team."
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