Universities need imaginative, ICT-enhanced presses

Abstract

How are African university presses, which have an important mission and unique contribution to make to the African knowledge base, faring under the global scholarly publishing industry's current 'market' conditions? Scholarly book publishing is in trouble. Two contrary developments can be observed internationally. On the one hand, there are perceptions in academia of 'robber capitalism' on the part of the large commercial publishers as they protect their oligopoly in the face of dissolving spatial barriers and diminishing value add.