Introduction

When we say publishing we mean the process of making something (open textbooks) available to users (students and faculty). This may range from leading a project consultation with a faculty author at the very start of the writing process to an institutional repository hosting plan for the finished textbook, and everything in between (like project management and editorial, design and production services). Of course, the scope of what services you and your library provide as part of the "in between" will vary depending on your vision and resources. In addition, you may at first work on a publishing project or two before launching a publishing program.

Definitions

Project: One-time effort to produce a defined product. May include predefined time, cost, and quality constraints. Many projects begin by faculty author inquiry, and a willingness to help.
Program: Enterprise with an undetermined end date, longer-term ambitions, and outcomes that are expansive and often include intangible benefits for an organization. There is probably more than one project in the publishing pipeline.
Portfolio: Set of projects (or titles) that demonstrate outcomes and benefits for an organization. Programs often contain portfolios.
Publisher: Responsible for managing all aspects of the book’s production, except the writing. Typically, this includes project management, editing, design and production services, as well as marketing, promotion and distribution.

Projects and Programs

There are publishing projects and publishing programs. Determining whether your library publishing activities will represent a project versus a program is a fundamental consideration. The answer to this question determines your institutional and business commitments and requirements. Whether you want to start with a project, or a scope for an entire program, is up to you.

Again, when we say publishing, we mean it in an inclusive way: whether you're working on one project or an entire program. The content in these modules can offer helpful support for either scenario.

Often publishing programs begin with ad-hoc projects. This is one way to venture into publishing. It allows for first-hand experience and learning, can help define services, and can be a soft launch. However, it also can mean that expectations between you and your faculty authors, as well as within your own team, may not be clear.

That said, costs, benefits, and risks may be more easily defined for individual projects, given their shorter duration. Here's a table that compares common dimensions of projects and programs:


	Project	Program
Objectives	Outcomes are relatively easy to describe, define, and measure.	Outcomes may include developing new, effective methodologies and be difficult to quantify. Benefits of a program often result in changes, such as introducing new capabilities, rather than on financial gains.
Scope	Static and defined; will likely not change throughout the project's lifespan.	Dynamic and more loosely defined; may change during the lifespan of the program.
Duration	Relatively short term, can be calculated in months.	Relatively long term, can be calculated in years.
Risk profile	The risk may be more easily identified through analysis. The impact of the project failing is limited when compared to the risk of a program failing.	Risk is greater and more complex to analyze. Program failure could result in financial, reputational, or operational loss.
Stakeholders	Few.	Many, which may produce disagreements and other issues compared to projects.
Operational environment	Static and understood.	Dynamic and decisions must take the program environment into account.
Resources	These can be estimated far in advance.	This can be estimated, but care must be taken, as the need for additional resources will arise.

Project and Program are useful for establishing the framework for considering library publishing costs, income, profit (and loss), and scale and scope.

Publishing Project vs. Program Example

Project. Let's say a faculty member comes to you because she'd like to write and publish her own open textbook in geography. It has a focused audience, an anticipated project duration, and limited risk to the library publisher in terms of financial losses and reputation. You could clearly define cost and resource expectations and commitments for this textbook project.

Program. Alternatively, you could announce a Request for Proposals, because there is funding to launch a program that will support the development and publication of a series of open textbooks. For each of these projects there may be differing timelines to track, less predictable resource demands, stakeholders with potentially divergent perspectives and expectations, and outcomes that may include fiscal sustainability and advancing public scholarship or goodwill (e.g., the social and community impact of the work done, the reputation enhancement for the library press or the institution).

Adapted from Library Publishing Curriculum Sustainability Unit from the Library Publishing Coalition (CC BY 4.0) .

Publishing Capacity Worksheet

It's useful to consider a series of reflective questions as you begin to define your publishing support. You can use this capacity worksheet to get started. There are additional guiding questions to consider, below.

Guiding Questions

Do you have experience working on a publishing project? If so, how did it go?
Do you have a team you can work with on different elements of a publishing program? For example, someone who has copyediting experience, or knowledge of publishing platforms?
Are there faculty authors looking for support? Can you imagine working with them in an experimental context? In other words, could they be a good person to collaborate with on a pilot?
What is the current climate at your library? Is there interest in providing more services to faculty? What would you need to make a publishing project or program a success?