Introduction

By: Lawrence McGill

Summary: Introduction to "State of Scholarly Publishing in the History of Art and Architecture", Section V "Conversations with Editors and Others Invested in Art History Publishing – Key Findings".

In-person interviews were conducted with six senior editors at four major university presses that specialize in publishing in the field of art and architectural history, four senior executives at a foundation with a significant investment in the arts, three senior executives at an art museum with a significant publishing program, and two senior executives at professional associations with a strong interest in art history publishing. In addition, a two-hour focused discussion was held with art and architectural history editors from 27 presses (both academic and trade) on February 22, 2006, during the annual College Art Association meeting in Boston, MA.

Topics discussed in the interviews and during the focused discussion included: changes in the business of publishing over the past decade, especially as they have affected the publication of works in art and architectural history; publication philosophies at university presses and museums; costs associated with publishing in the field of art history; sales and print-run trends; intellectual property issues; electronic publishing; recent trends in art history scholarship; and the relationship between publishing and tenure requirements.

[To preserve the anonymity of the interviewees and discussion session participants (and to facilitate readability), they will be referred to simply as “sources” for the remainder of this section.]

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