a sign of the times in academic publishing

Catching up on end of the year email, I came across the following notice in the UC Berkeley Department of History’s Fall 2012 newsletter (pdf):

Geoffrey Koziol’s new book was published by Brepols: The Politics of Memory and Identity in Carolingian Royal Diplomas (2012). Thanks to subventions from the History Department and UC Berkeley’s Committee on Research, the price is a moderate $100, which may seem like a lot, but European academic presses are increasingly pricing books at $200, beyond the ability of even mid-sized college libraries to afford them. It is becoming very difficult to publish innovative scholarship of any length and complexity. Flexible sources of funding are sorely needed.

Incidentally, although I eventually found myself specializing in American history, Koziol’s undergraduate survey course on medieval Europe played a big part in my decision to major in history. You can find out more about his book here.