Losses force Smithsonian to scale back its publishing unit

The Smithsonian Institution is dismantling Smithsonian Books, a widely respected publishing division of the museum and research complex that dates back 156 years.

The move was driven by a loss of $2 million in the last decade, officials said, and will result in the publishing of fewer scholarly books and the enlistment of corporate partners to make the Smithsonian brand more profitable.

Critics assert that overhauling the book unit disrupts an essential part of the original Smithsonian mission -- to “increase and diffuse knowledge.”

Corporate partnerships have been strongly criticized during the tenure of Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small, who has said they are a necessity forced by the slowdown in government and private funding.

The developments have been met with dismay by authors who value the prestige Smithsonian Books gave to sometimes obscure topics and who question whether this is another move to additional commercialization, such as naming galleries and theaters for donors.

The cutback follows the failure of an effort that started in 2002 to make Smithsonian Books profitable. “There have been steady losses at the press over a long period of time,” said David Evans, the Smithsonian’s undersecretary of science, who will take over the publication of scholarly tracts.

Smithsonian has 700 to 800 books in print and in recent years has published about 50 general-interest nonfiction and scholarly books per year. In the current publishing cycle starting this fall, the list is 40 books, 10 of which have been placed on hold, pending any co-publishing deals.