Publishing managers and practitioners are learning to do their jobs better today and Tuesday during the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's (ECPA) first Publishing University (Pub U) at Indian Lakes Resort outside of Chicago.

Nearly 370 publishing professionals are registered for six different tracks ranging from editorial to sales. Top executives in the industry are teaching the tracks.

ECPA President Mark Kuyper opened Sunday night's plenary session and called the training event "unique and very historic" because the classes are being taught by publishing executives who are teaching their competitors "how to do their jobs better."

During Sunday's session, Robert Baensch, director of the Center for Publishing at New York University, challenged attendees to find new ways to reach readers. Baensch, who helped to create the curriculum for Pub U, said book readership overall is down.

"Consumers are spending less time with print," he said. "Time is the limiting factor."

Print usage will decline 14% by 2008, he said. But the overall media usage, which includes the Internet, will increase 28%.

He urged publishers to reach out to senior citizens, who are traditionally readers. "We are neglecting them," he said, adding that more seniors are now turning to the Internet, not books, for information on health and travel.

"You have the opportunity to develop growth," he added. "It's just a matter of what growth you want to pursue."

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