FAYETTEVILLE -- Mike Bieker has been willing to make big changes at the University of Arkansas Press.
One of his first decisions after being named director in February was to eliminate the organization's two-person distribution department, which had handled book orders for decades.
"It's something that I wanted to do for a long time," said Bieker, who first began working for the press in 2004. "But I could only make the decision after I got promoted. It was basically the first decision that I made."
Now books from the UA Press -- titles in a diverse range of subjects, including Arkansas history -- get distributed through the nonprofit University of Chicago Press.
While the UA Press has at times struggled to avoid ballooning deficits, Bieker said it broke even in the most recent fiscal year, which ended June 30.
Changing distribution "was never, ever in my mind some type of a cost-saving feature," he said, although the press has one fewer employee than this time last year. One distribution employee retired; the other accepted a different position with the press, Bieker said.
He described how the evolving book business has changed the way book orders are placed.
"Some of the bigger players, they don't call in orders anymore," said Bieker, who also serves as treasurer for the Association of American University Presses' board of directors.
With orders now commonly placed electronically, working to distribute books meant spending "more and more" time "trying to figure out how to get our computers to communicate with Amazon's computers," said Bieker, referring to the online retailer.
Bieker declined to discuss the exact financial terms of the agreement with the University of Chicago Press but said it's tied to a percentage of sales. About 65 university presses have distribution agreements with the University of Chicago Press, he added.
The move allows the UA Press to focus on its editorial mission, he said.
"Our goal isn't really to grow into a bigger press, but what we would like to do is to become a better press, you know, to just do 20 really, really great books a year," Bieker said.
Bieker's background is in accounting, and he has spent time as the business manager for the press. In describing his leadership at the press, however, he said he's spending his time working to improve marketing and production.
Bieker spoke highly about new efforts to acquire books, market the press's books and update its website.
"While we've always done these things, I think we're doing this with a renewed energy," Bieker said.
So far this year, "we're in the black a bit," Bieker said.
The press tallied about $425,000 in net sales for the previous fiscal year, Bieker said, and "I think we're going to come in almost right at it again."
Popular recent titles include Sport and the Law: Historical and Cultural Intersections, a collection of essays edited by Samuel Regalado and Sarah Fields, and an art book, George Dombek: Paintings, featuring the work of the Arkansas artist, Bieker said.
The press receives a $250,000 annual subsidy from the university. Its previous director, Lawrence Malley, who retired in December 2013, had unsuccessfully asked for the subsidy to be increased by $150,000.
Bieker said he has no plans to ask the university for more money.
"I think just reallocating our resources has really solved our financial issue," Bieker said.
NW News on 12/29/2014