National Library makes cuts to ‘unprofitable’ publishing imprint

The National Library of Australia is cutting the number of books it publishes each year through its NLA Publishing imprint, reports the Canberra Times.

The total number of books published will fall from 17 in 2019–20 to eight in 2020–21, with the number of children’s books cut from eight to two.

NLA director-general Marie-Louise Ayres said the imprint was unprofitable, adding that the national retail sector downturn has affected book sales. ‘This is why we had to make the difficult decision to not proceed with some titles.’

Ayres said ‘ongoing financial sustainability’ is a challenge for the library: ‘Our world-leading digital innovation—combined with the ever-present need to care for a heritage building and provide new storage facilities—will draw heavily on our future budgets.’

The Canberra Times reports that Ayres declined to say whether the cuts were a result of the efficiency dividend, first imposed by the federal government in 2015.

Category: Local news