Robert L. Faherty, director of the Brookings Institution Press, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of American Publishers (AAP). He will serve a four-year term, representing the university presses.
The AAP, headed by former U.S. Representative Patricia Schroeder, is the organization representing the book publishing industry. Among the issues with which its board is currently grappling are electronic publishing, copyright protection in the Internet era, and online book selling. Faherty replaces board member William P. Sisler, director of the Harvard University Press.
The Brookings Institution Press publishes approximately 55 books a year, some designed for academic readers and university classes, others aimed at policymakers and a more general audience. Under Faherty’s direction, the Brookings Press has won many awards and played a leading role in the growth of electronic publishing.
Faherty has been director of the Brookings Institution Press since 1984. Before that he was director of publications at the Congressional Budget Office for seven years. He has previously served as president of the Association of American University Presses and of Washington Book Publishers.
Faherty began his book publishing career with the Encyclopedia Britannica, where he was senior editor in the fields of philosophy, religion, and the social sciences. He also worked as managing editor of Scholarly Press and for an imprint of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. He has served as consulting editor to Harper and Row, the R.R. Bowker Co., the World Bank, and other organizations.