The University of Chicago Press is using a $1.5-million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to launch the Chicago Digital Distribution Center. The CDDC will comprise a short-run digital print facility and the BiblioVault, an electronic repository for backlist books and new university press titles.
Approximately half of the grant money will be used to convert backlist titles into digital form. The balance will be used to develop software and to provide university press managers with the opportunity "to get a handle on this business," said Mary Summerfield, director of business development at UCP, who is currently directing the CDDC project.
The short-run printer is being installed in the warehouse of the Chicago Distribution Center by Edwards Brothers. The CDC manages warehousing and other back-office functions for 10 scholarly presses in addition to the UCP. Initially, only titles from CDC members will be eligible to become part of the CDDC. Summerfield emphasized that the CDDC will engage in short-run printing, not print-on-demand. "If we get an order for one book, we probably will do a run of 25," Summerfield said. "We're not going to do onesies." The printing facility will have an initial capacity of 36,000 books a year.
Once the titles are stored in the BiblioVault, the digital files will not only be available for short print runs, but will also be searchable online. "Searchability is an important element of the project," Summerfield told PW. "We need to provide greater access to the works" of university presses. Summerfield hopes greater searchability will lead to book sales or will point people to a book that can be found in a library.
The Mellon grant will provide the CDDC with operating funds for 18 months, and Summerfield said additional seed money may be necessary before the CDDC can become self-sustaining.
