Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book: The Global Reach of University Presses

Despite having an integral role with universities and the towns they are located in, the impact of university presses is anything but limited to regional. University presses can be just as important in far-reaching corners of the world as they are in their own backyards.

The final day of University Press Week's blog tour highlights those worldwide influences with today's theme of "The Global Reach of University Presses."

Closing out the tour today, we have:

Princeton University Press Director Peter Dougherty discusses the importance of foreign language translations and how they impact a university press's ability to sustain economic health and fulfill their missions.

Chip Rossetti, managing editor of the Library of Arabic Literature, details an international project being undertaken by the LAL that would not be possible without the partnership between the New York University Press and NYU Abu Dhabi.

The Indiana University Press describes their Framing the Global project, which supports scholarly research and publication to promote advancement in all areas of global research.

From book translations to international marketing and the growth of Project MUSE into many different nations, the Johns Hopkins University Press can't help but think beyond the borders of the United States.

Georgetown University Press discusses how its foreign language learning materials, international career guides and international affairs titles give their readers the tools they need to develop a global reach themselves.

Ivan Lett details the Yale University Press's recent US-UK marketing collaborations for the Press's globally published titles, series, and digital products.

University of Wisconsin Press Director Sheila Leary profiles the publishing career of Jan Vansina, one of the founders of the field of African history who has been publishing groundbreaking material with the Press since the 1960s.

Columbia University Press will also be featured.

Thanks for following us throughout University Press Week's blog tour! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Keep checking UMP's blog for exciting updates, new releases and promotions!

The Importance of Regional Publishing

In a world where cultures change with every generation, preserving the historic regional culture of a city, state, or area in general is of the utmost importance. Publishing provides a way to immortalize certain aspects of culture, ensuring that they will not be forgotten by incoming generations eager to form their own cultural identity.

The University Press Week's blog tour focuses on that preservation with today's theme: "The Importance of Regional Publishing."

Comprising today's features:

Regional author Chuck D'Imperio sits down with the Syracuse University Press and discusses the roots of regional writing in some of the "classics" and how these stories contribute the culture and history of the region.

Fordham University Press Director Fredric Nachbaur talks about the Empires State Editions imprint, which he established to better market regional books, reflect the university's mission, and co-publish with local institutions.

Steve Yates, marketing manager of the University Press of Mississippi and author of two books, describes the impact that regional publishing had on his writing and his life.

The University Press of Kentucky details what makes Kentucky's cultural heritage and regional books unique.

Erin Rolfs explains the difficulty of capturing everything Louisiana's culture has to offer, and discusses the success that several Louisiana State University Press titles have had in providing a deeper understanding of the state's regional culture.

The Oregon State University Press discusses regional publishing as a whole and the specific titles they have published in the subject.

With increasing emphasis on the global aspect of university press publishing, University of North Carolina Press Editorial Director Mark Simpson-Vos highlights the special value of regional university press publishing.

Derek Krissoff, editor-in-chief of the University of Nebraska Press, defines the meaning of place in university press publishing.

The University of Alabama Press provides a brief overview of the niche role university presses occupy between mass-market trade publishing and non-academic regional and local publishing.


Continue to check in here daily for updates about University Press Week, and be sure to keep an eye out for #UPWeek hashtags on Twitter and Facebook!

Subject Area Spotlights

Continuing the University Press Week blog tour, today's "Spotlight on Subject Areas Your Press is Known For" theme provides the most straight-forward and self-explanatory theme of the week.

Staff members from a multitude of university presses weigh in on what subjects have helped their press to be successful and why they feel those subjects have been so valuable to them.

Featured posts for today's theme include:

Series co-editors Nik Heynen, Deborah Cohen and Melissa W. Wright discuss how geography books - specifically those related to the Geographies of Justice and Social Transformation series - have impacted the University of Georgia Press.

Cheryl Lousley outlines the Wilfrid Laurier University Press's Environmental Humanities series, which she serves as the editor of, and writes about the engagement of environmental issues through the humanities.

Acquisitions editors at the Penn Press talk about the foundations and future of some of the Press's key subject areas.

The University of Toronto Press takes some time to discuss their Medieval and Renaissance Studies lists.

MIT Press Editorial Director Gita Manaktala shares how digital advances are influencing MIT Press authors in publishing, teaching and conducting research.

Charles Porter, historian and author of Sharing the Common Pool: Water Rights in the Everyday Lives of Texans, discusses the role of Texas history in various books and series published by the Texas A&M University Press.

Continue to check in here daily for updates about University Press Week, and be sure to keep an eye out for #UPWeek hashtags on Twitter and Facebook!

What Does the Future Have in Store for Scholarly Communication?

With new types of media sprouting up seemingly every day, the future of all communication - scholarly and otherwise - is a constant topic of interest.

Today's "Future of Scholarly Communication" theme for University Press Week's ongoing blog tour features opinions from scholarly authors and press staff members about how the ever-changing world of communication will impact scholarly communication's future in particular.

Today's stops on the tour include:

Jeffrey Schnapp, faculty director of metaLAB at Harvard, talks to the Harvard University Press about the emerging currents of experimental scholarship, which his new metaLABprojects book series provides a new platform for.

Duke University Professor of English and Women's Studies Priscilla Wald tells the Duke University Press why she believes scholarly communication has a "slow future" ahead.

Editor Dani Kasprzak discusses a new initiative by the University of Minnesota Press.

University of Texas Press Assistant Editor-in-Chief Robert Devens shares his thoughts on the future of scholarly communication.

Holly Shulman - historian, editor of The Dolley Madison Digital Edition and author of the upcoming People of the Founding Era - talks to the University of Virginia Press about the necessity of university presses adapting to new technology and the difficulties of doing so.

Temple University Press's Alex Holzman explores the partnerships university presses and libraries can forge as the means of communicating scholarship evolves.

Stanford University Press Director Alan Harvey talks about new technologies in publishing, the challenges they present, and how the industry model is changing to adapt to them.

Continue to check in here daily for updates about University Press Week, and be sure to keep an eye out for #UPWeek hashtags on Twitter and Facebook!

Staff Profile: Director David Rosenbaum

Today is a very exciting day for the University of Missouri Press. Not only do we get to be featured on the first day of the AAUP's University Press Week blog tour, but we also get to introduce UMP's new director, David Rosenbaum!

Dave started with UMP just ten days ago, and both he and the Press share a mutual excitement about the prospect of having a permanent director in place for the first time in over five years.

Previously, Dave has experience as the director of product development and project management for the American Heart Association, senior acquisitions editor at Elsevier, senior acquisitions editor at Delmar Cengage Learning, and senior publisher and production manager at the Iowa State University Press.

I sat down with Dave to find out how his transition back to the world of scholarly publishing has been going so far, and what his plans are for the future of UMP.

Dave admits that there has been a substantial adjustment moving from Dallas to Columbia, but said that he prefers the comparatively more "cozy" Columbia to the metropolitan feel of a big city. The difference between the campuses of the University of Missouri and Iowa State University - the last campus that Dave worked closely with - is also a noticeable one. Not only larger in size, Dave believes that Mizzou's campus has "more excitement, more spirit" than any other campus he has visited.

The prospect of being back at a university press excites Dave, and one major reason why is the difference in cultures between commercial and scholarly publishing. Although much of the actual work done at both kinds of presses is similar, the culture of cooperation between university presses varies considerably from the culture of competition between commercial publishers. Dave's extensive experience in both areas of publishing gives him a vast wealth of experience to draw on as he transitions from his most recent role at the American Heart Association into his new role at UMP.

When I asked Dave what his favorite book published by UMP was, he told me that Louis S. Gerteis' The Civil War in Missouri: A Military History stuck out to him. He liked the book because, in addition to having an innate curiosity about the Civil War, much of Civil War history tends to focus heavily on other states, such as Virginia. The mostly untold story of the how the Civil War impacted Missouri piqued his curiosity, both as a reader and a new Missouri resident.

The first major project that the Press has undertaken on Dave's watch is an in-depth analysis of the success of our published works in specific areas, determining which areas have been the most beneficial to the Press in recent history. As UMP strives to be more sustainable, a narrowing of the Press's focus areas serves as a major step toward greater financial stability.

When asked what his first impressions of the Press were, Dave said that he had less of an impression of UMP, and more of a realization: that the University of Missouri Press must have a stronger connection to the University of Missouri itself. He told me that he believes UMP has a chance to be "an integral part" of fulfilling the University's mission, and that one year from now, the Press will be "more closely tied to the University of Missouri than it has ever been before."

Continue to check in here daily for updates about University Press Week, and be sure to keep an eye out for #UPWeek hashtags on Twitter and Facebook!

It's University Press Week!

University Press Week is here, and we are very excited to kick off the UP Week blog tour, starting tomorrow!

Along the way, 37 different university presses will be illuminating various aspects of the university press system, including the global reach of university presses, the importance of regional publishing, and spotlights on specifically emphasized subject areas for individual presses. The tour includes presses from all over the country, and even a few presses based in our lovely neighboring country to the north.

Tomorrow's "Meet the Press" theme features some excellent profiles on staff members from a variety of presses:

The University Press of Colorado is featuring a profile of Managing Editor Laura Furney, who has spent the last two decades at UPC, and has had a crucial role in some of their recent developments.

The soon-to-be-retired journals manager at the University of Hawaii Press shares the story of his career in academic publishing.

Jonathan Crago and Kyla Madden, key members of the editorial department, discuss their past experiences in academic publishing and their vision for the future of the McGill-Queen's University Press.

The University of Florida Press's acquisitions editor describes how the press is expanding the range of subject areas UFP covers.

University of Illinois Press Editor in Chief Laurie Matheson details her journey through scholarly publishing and the changes she has seen throughout her career.

Penn State Press will also be featuring a staff member profile.

Here at the University of Missouri Press, we will be featuring a profile of our new director, David Rosenbaum, focusing on his transition back to a university press and his plans for the future of UMP.

Look for those posts coming up tomorrow morning, continue to check in here daily for updates about University Press Week, and be sure to keep an eye out for #UPWeek hashtags on Twitter and Facebook!

Book Spine Poetry

The book spine poetry sensation is sweeping the nation, and we here at the University of Missouri Press could not resist trying out this creative literary medium. Inspired by the earlier postings of Publishers Weekly and the Duke University Press, UMP has been searching its shelves to find the best titles that would help us author a few book spine poems of our own:

Insane Sisters

They Raised Me Up

Call Me Tom

A Fatherless Child

An Unplanned Life

Wondering about the future...

 

A Semblance of Justice

Long Odds

The Opinions of Mankind

Paradigms of the Past

The Promise of Progress

This one is a bit sad...

The Broken Nest

The Art of Grit

Empty Bed Blues

The Plain Language of Love and Loss

The Consolations of Ambiguity

It's easy to lose sight sometimes of just how much we owe these men and women...

Soldiers and Statesmen

The Forgotten Generation

Beginning the Quest

From Home Guards to Heroes

Tomorrow Will Be Better

Acting Immortal

Talking Razzmatazz

Stratagems to Uncover Nakedness

Held for Questioning

Where Laughter Stops

How well do you really know yourself?

The Elusive Self

Near at Hand

Telling the Untold Story

Above Time

The Way We Know in Dreams

We all know that Friday feeling...

Finally it's Friday

The Fierce Embrace

American Girls, Beer, & Glenn Miller

Banned in Kansas

Unjustly Dishonored



If you have any book spine poetry creations of your own, please let us know! We'd love to share them.