Louisiana State University Press could face a crippling budget cut as they struggle with a familiar combination of publishing woes: shrinking budgets, the digital shift, and decreasing sales during the recession.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that legislators in Louisiana are considering a potentially disastrous $40-million cut for the press’ home institution, LSU at Baton Rouge. The press has published works by James Lee Burke, James Dickey, and John Hope Franklin, and its authors have earned four Pulitzer Prizes.
The Press’ director, Mary Katherine Callaway, had this comment: “The worst-case scenario is that the press would receive no subsidy whatsoever in next year’s budget, and we’d face some really, really tough decisions … I think you’re going to hear more of this from university presses.” (Via Sarah Weinman)