After losing around a quarter of a million dollars last year, Duke Press operations and finances are being closely examined.
The loss is much greater than University officials had expected. The University originally budgeted a subsidy of about $60,000 for the press' operations, said Provost Thomas Langford.
A committee charged by Langford has been meeting weekly with the staff of the press to examine its plans and the finances it needs to accomplish them.
"We're trying to keep very close tabs because we don't want to be unprepared for what comes next year," Langford said.
The committee should make final recommendations early next month.
Lawrence Malley, director of Duke Press, did not return repeated telephone calls.
The press suffered because of the dismal state of the general economy. Both libraries and individuals have cut back on book and journal purchases, Langford said.
"The problems are not unique to Duke Press; they are general to university presses nationwide," he said.
Perkins library has had to cut back on its purchases because of the spiraling costs of materials. For the last 10 years, the cost of periodicals has risen about 67 percent above inflation, said Connie McCarthy, associate University librarian.
"More and more libraries have had to use more funds to purchase periodicals and fewer books," she said.
Perkins has not had to cut back on buying books, but instead has limited purchases of periodicals, she said.
Traditionally, book-buying surges in May and June as university libraries receive new catalogs and add to their shelves. This year, the surge never appeared, Langford said.
Despite the losses, the press will not be shut down. "We intend to stay in this business and be as strong as we can," Langford said.
It also helps the University's reputation when University Press books are quoted in academic journals and reviewed in publications such as The New York Times Book Review, he said.
"The press is not necessary to the University, but it is a wonderful enrichment."
For the fiscal year ending July 1992, the press needed a subsidy of about $75,000 from the University, Langford said.
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