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I know nothing about publishing, but I have two thoughts about this.
It would seem to me that the publisher's most important contribution is marketing. I include in that the basic sales pitch that says that this is a book that we consider good enough to invest our money in. I would think that that is persuasive for fiction.
Many on the anti-publisher side (both here and posting comments to the articles linked to) say that the publishers aren't doing their job in this regard. Well sure, if they don't do their job, who needs them?
On the other hand, I don't feel the publishers' imprimatur is necessary for special interest non-fiction. I have certain interests, and if a book looks interesting to me I don't care about the industry's opinions about whether it will sell and is therefore worth investing in.
I have bought from self-publisher lulu.com, and it mattered not at all that publishers didn't bid for the book.
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