ISU Press has finalized its merger with British commercial publisher Blackwell Science. Warren Madden, vice president for Business and Finance, said the merger was completed at the end of August, but all the details now have been finalized. Al Austin, president of the ISU Press Board of Directors, said the press publishes mainly in aviation, veterinary medicine, journalism, agriculture and state and regional interest. Blackwell Science is headquartered in England and specializes in veterinary medicine and technology publications, Austin said. ISU Press has co-published books with Blackwell and has acted as its North American distributor. “The press has had a long-standing relationship with Blackwell for quite a number of years,” he said. He said one of the benefits of the merger will be the establishment of a $2.2 million endowment, which will be used to support faculty and staff in publishing books. “I think that’s a big benefit for the faculty and staff at Iowa State,” Austin said. Madden said the endowment will be distributed through a committee created by the provost’s office. It will provide about $110,000 a year. The press currently develops 40 to 50 titles a year in various areas of expertise, Madden said. The number of titles by faculty members has decreased over the years, he said, leaving only 5 or 6 percent of the press’s current titles by ISU faculty. Madden said employees of the press began looking at its operations about a year ago and concluded that it needed to look at where the press was going and the effect of the cost of new technology. He said the press’s officials decided this summer that the business’s best interest would be to merge with another company. “It’s a matter of just looking into the future and wanting to maintain competition in a very competitive world,” Austin said. Austin said that after looking at a number of alternatives, the press decided merging with Blackwell would be the most beneficial. “This was the best option for maintaining the press and the future,” he said. Austin said the board and the staff wanted to keep the press in Ames and wanted to retain all of the current staff. Madden said Blackwell acquired all of the assets and titles of ISU Press and will be retaining all of the employees and titles. “I’ve characterized this as a win-win situation,” he said.