University Press Publishing Research Articles

‘Just One Day of Unstructured Autonomous Time’: Samuel A. Moore Supporting Editorial Labour for Ethical Publishing within the University

Universities have traditionally supported the distribution of critical and cultural theory through departmental and centre publishing (e.g. Working Papers in Cultural Studies) and the establishment of university presses. However, over recent decades publishing has been increasingly outsourced to commercial providers, buttressed by volunteer academic labour extracted for profit by the publishing industry. At the same time, faced with ongoing casualisation and ever-increasing workloads, the labour required for academic publishing is severely undervalued by the university and in a permanent state of crisis. In this article we put forward a radical proposal for universities to provide scholars dedicated time to support publishing as part of their academic service work. We intervene strongly into discourses that approach the publishing labour crisis by arguing for calculative solutions in the form of payment or credit. Instead, this article explores reorienting the labour underpinning academic publishing within the university itself by positioning it as an integral part of scholarly research and what it means to be a researcher. We make this argument through an in-depth engagement with debates on academic citizenship on the value of service work and discourses on academic labour derived from within critical university studies. We further support our argument by drawing on discussions on labour and open access (OA) publishing, referencing various alternative models currently being developed that, based on scholar-led, library-led and ‘new’ university press publishing, are experimenting with innovative ways to value and perform labour relations as part of community-controlled collective organisations. As universities are increasingly financially and infrastructurally supporting such initiatives, particularly with recourse to library budgets, we explore how this in many ways has left labour issues for publishing as a service performed as part of an academic’s workload unaltered. We therefore argue for the urgent need to reconfigure how universities view the labour behind academic publishing, to support more ethical engagements and relations with publishing, bring knowledge production back under the control of academic communities, and to support greater academic autonomy within universities.

University press publishing and the ecology of disciplinary fluidity: General observations

AbstractAcademic book and journal publishing constitutes the majority focus of university presses. Besides commercial scholarly publishers, academic scholars and researchers view the opportunities provided by university presses as important venues for the dissemination of their research. This discussion focuses on the disciplinary imperative to publish scholarship that is ever more fluid and specialized as academic disciplines continue to become further nuanced in their response to the increasing knowledge produced by humanities and social science inquiry. The focus is on university presses and not commercial scholarly presses, although constitute a significant locus of scholarly publishing. What are the general characteristics of academic specialization and university press publishing? Further, how is disciplinary fluidity, especially evolving specialization, reflected in university press book publishing nomenclature and how scholarship is tied to the intellectual preoccupations of academic specialization? Multi‐ and inter‐disciplinarities further articulate disciplinary publishing, accelerating disciplinary fluidity. Examples from disciplinary and emerging configurations of disciplinary nomenclature utilized by university presses offers insight into specialization and publishing. Academic history publishing is used to illustrate newly emerging fluid disciplinary configurations.

Nigerian university presses: a bleak picture

AbstractIn the 1970s and 1980s there was a lively academic publishing scene in Nigeria, with several new university presses being launched. Today, however, as a cursory amount of research about the current state of university press publishing in Nigeria demonstrates, the picture is bleak. Research (conducted in April 2021) revealed that traditional university press publishing activities seem to have been almost completely abandoned, although presses still exist in the form of commercial operations offering design, typesetting, and printing and binding services to the university, as well as to other customers. Nigerian university presses operating today seem to be far removed from the ideals and primary responsibility of a university press, which should be to produce and disseminate knowledge of all kinds, and promote a literate culture upon which the foundation of the university as a national institution must ultimately rest. Partly due to financial constraints and the demand to be self-sustaining, many university presses have ceased to be publishing presses and have become printing presses. University administrators now view their presses as an opportunity for making money in times of dwindling resources, rather than as an outlet for the dissemination of scholarship. Publishing opportunities for African scholars by Western presses, and the availability of content within Africa, remain limited. The demise, and the now almost total lack of publishing output by Nigerian university presses, can be said to be a major contributory factor to this unhappy situation.

University, College Institutional Histories, and University Presses: General Observations of a Unique Publishing Phenomenon

Institutional memory is important to colleges and universities, especially as they present a record of their existence and, especially achievements. At a point in time, significant to the institution, a historical account needs to be produced to capture and set in place these achievements. It becomes a matter of why, who, and for what purpose these official histories are written and published. How critical are these histories and what constitutes their purpose—or, are they simply institutional celebrations, and celebratory hagiographies? This discussion explores some of these themes, especially, as they intersect with university press publishing. A pertinent question highlights this discussion—what is the relationship of university presses to institutional histories? These and other questions vis-a-vis the status of institutional histories reveal the tension between scholarly responsibilities professed by university presses and the perceived desires and objectives of higher educational institutions.

Two Sides of the Same Coin? Trade and University Press Publishing of Revised Dissertations, 2007–2016: Some Observations

In academia, humanists, social scientists, and those in the various sciences, write books that assume major cultural capital for promotion, tenure, and for dissemination of scholarship. For the beginning academic, doctoral education is the acculturative process by which nascent scholars achieve competence in their respective disciplines. The capstone research experience culminates in the doctoral dissertation in the humanities and social sciences, often, and with substantial revision, the first book in professorial life. This study attempts to frame the production, illustrative bibliographic characteristics, and major publishers of revised dissertations published by university and scholarly trade presses. This study is grounded in data provided by YPB’s Gobi database and further articulated by utilization of the Library of Congress Classification system, and further frames the degree of interdisciplinarity, pricing, geographical concentrations, and other aspects of these books and investigates the similarities and dissimilarities between university press and scholarly trade presses. Illustrative examples display trends and provides suggestions for future analysis and research.

Fulfilling the Cultural without Forsaking the Commercial: University Presses in the Philippines from the Perspective of Three Directors

This paper departs from the mostly Western research focus in the area of scholarly publishing and the book trade. We investigate Philippine university presses and how their publishers operate in the context of a developing country. From semi-structured interviews with three university press directors, we find that Philippine university presses operate under less pressure from administration to be financially self-supporting and are hence able to concentrate on their cultural roles—a marked difference from their Western counterparts, which struggle for money. Other findings reveal that university publishers in the Philippines 1) have weaker professionalization standards, 2) operate in a small industry with intense competition, and 3) are still in the experimental stage in ebook publishing. Results of this study provide a non-Western perspective on university press publishing and offer lessons for professionals in the scholarly publishing enterprise.

Lost and Gained in Translation: The Role of the ‘American Model’ in the Institution-Building of a Japanese University Press

This paper presents a case study of the early history of the University of Tokyo Press (UTP), which was founded in 1951 as the first university press affiliated with a national university in Japan. We concentrate on how the American model of university publishing was used in inventive and creative ways, not only to build up and manage the UTP but also to create and solidify the emerging institution of university press publishing in Japan. Drawing upon the ideas of Scandinavian institutionalist school of organizational analysis, we contend that a certain ‘translation’ of an existing organizational model often constitutes an integral part of institutional entrepreneurship. We also argue that the process of institutional translation is inseparably related to the UTP members’ search for workable missions and organizational identity within financial and institutional constraints. The UTP case suggests that to be a successful institutional entrepreneur, one has to be an effective rhetor as well.

Library and University Press Publishing: Then and Now

Library and University Press Publishing: Then and Now

Sam Rivers: Remembering the Forgotten [RETRACTED

Sam Rivers: Remembering the Forgotten [RETRACTED] John G. Rodwan Jr. Notice of Retraction It recently came to the editors' attention that John G. Rodwan, Jr.'s, article "Sam Rivers: Remembering the Forgotten," which appeared in African American Review 47.4 (Winter 2014), was previously published in Europe without our knowledge for attribution. This is in violation of our submission guidelines and of the Johns Hopkins University Press publishing agreement. Copyright © 2015 Johns Hopkins University Press and Saint Louis University

Pathways and the sound of crackling twigs: the challenge of university press publishing

The article raises some discussions about scholarly publications in the field of arts presenting the journals as special places to make public art criticism and questioning their suitability for academic parameters, which often preclude the journals to develop his true vocation.

From A University Press-Publishers and Consortia

From A University Press-Publishers and Consortia

Stakeholders, Service, and the Future of University Press Publishing

Stakeholder theory is a useful framework for understanding any industry, and I contend that university presses should focus their energies and attention on managing stakeholders and creating value for stakeholders. But while this focus is necessary, it is not sufficient. I propose that a commitment to service through entrepreneurship underlies university press relationships with primary stakeholders. University presses should therefore (a) strategically seek the widest possible access for value-added content through (b) creative delivery channels in order to help scholarly communities of practice advance their teaching, learning, and research. This will, I hope, (d) result in sufficient revenue to allow the organization to grow and flourish (e) in order to serve communities of practice and the academy and society more effectively.

Stakeholders, Service, and the Future of University Press Publishing

Stakeholder theory is a useful framework for understanding any industry, and I contend that university presses should focus their energies and attention on managing stakeholders and creating value for stakeholders. But while this focus is necessary, it is not sufficient. I propose that a commitment to service through entrepreneurship underlies university press relationships with primary stakeholders. University presses should therefore (a) strategically seek the widest possible access for value-added content through (b) creative delivery channels in order to help scholarly communities of practice advance their teaching, learning, and research. This will, I hope, (d) result in sufficient revenue to allow the organization to grow and flourish (e) in order to serve communities of practice and the academy and society more effectively.

University Press Forum 2012: Looking Backward and Forward

Back in the olden days—the 1990s and early 2000s— Choice 's university press feature, which appears every year in the May issue, comprised an essay based on responses to questionnaires we had sent to all AAUP directors and a list of significant university press titles for undergraduates. The latter, which directly follows the forum, remains a tradition, and we invite you to peruse it to sample the riches that continue to emanate from university presses. Some things never change. The essay, however, morphed in the May 2005 issue into what we call a forum. We wanted to give university press directors and editors an opportunity to speak for themselves. Every year since, we've sought out a handful of directors and asked them to contribute to this forum. That first year we asked contributors to talk about their presses' editorial focus and policies, but in the years since we've adopted a no-holds-barred attitude vis-a`-vis subject matter. The only directive we have given is that the contributor write about a subject relevant to the press's publishing program or to university press publishing in general. In seeking out presses to contribute, we've made efforts to be geographically diverse and to ask presses both large and small. Our tack this year was somewhat different. We thought we'd go back to several presses that had contributed in the first couple of years of this forum and ask them to read their earlier contributions and comment on how university presses and their concerns have (or haven't) changed in the intervening years. Accordingly, we prevailed on University of California Press, Columbia University Press, University of Illinois Press, Ohio University Press and Swallow Press, and Stanford University Press to speak to us again. Two of this year's contributors—Alan Harvey (Stanford) and Jennifer Crewe (Columbia)—wrote their presses' earlier forum pieces. The others—Willis Regier (Illinois), Alison Mudditt (California), and Kevin Hawworth (Ohio)—stepped in because of management changes at the presses. As always, the comments are illuminating. I'll not summarize, characterize, or comment on what follows, because nothing I would say would benefit what follows. Suffice it to say, it's pretty much all about e Enjoy.

University Presses 2008: A Snapshot in Time

As those familiar with Choice know, we devote various issues throughout our volume year to particular themes. For many years the May theme has been ‘university press publishing,’ and over those many years the features that make up this thematic concentration have varied. Always included has been our annual press-by-press list of titles the individual presses themselves deem particularly valuable to undergraduates. Accordingly, following the forum, you will find ‘Significant University Press Titles for Undergraduates, 2007–2008,’ which this year includes entries from a record eighty-four presses. The other part of the university press feature has been narrative – in recent years a ‘forum’ in which directors of a handful presses offer their thoughts about their particular press or about university press publishing in general. The subtitle of this year's forum (which follows immediately) – ‘From the Prairie to the Pacific Rim’ – reflects the eclectic nature of the contributions: we make no effort to guide the contributors as to content, since we believe that a true pot luck best reflects what is on the tables (to wrest the most out of the food metaphor) of presses of various sizes and from various parts of North America. Every year we seek out new voices, and we hope eventually to hear from most, if not all, university presses in this forum. Among the new voices we sought out this year was Phil Pochoda's. Director of University of Michigan Press, Phil – like most university press directors – had been thinking a lot about matters digital. When he put his fingers to the keyboard – in response to our invitation – the result was a really meaty feature article that, we believe, deserves a broad audience. Accordingly, you will find herein Phil's piece, ‘The Future of Scholarly Communication: On the Other Side of the Digital Tipping Point.’ As always, we invite reader feedback on these features. E-mail us! Write to us! We welcome your thoughts on these matters or any others related to the work we do at Choice.

University Presses 2008: A Snapshot in Time

As those familiar with Choice know, we devote various issues throughout our volume year to particular themes. For many years the May theme has been ‘university press publishing,’ and over those many years the features that make up this thematic concentration have varied. Always included has been our annual press-by-press list of titles the individual presses themselves deem particularly valuable to undergraduates. Accordingly, following the forum, you will find ‘Significant University Press Titles for Undergraduates, 2007–2008,’ which this year includes entries from a record eighty-four presses. The other part of the university press feature has been narrative – in recent years a ‘forum’ in which directors of a handful presses offer their thoughts about their particular press or about university press publishing in general. The subtitle of this year's forum (which follows immediately) – ‘From the Prairie to the Pacific Rim’ – reflects the eclectic nature of the contributions: we make no effort to guide th...

Comment on “Peer review, politics and pluralism” by Chris Harrison, Environmental Science and Policy 7, 357–368

The major point Chris Harrison makes in his account of the publication of Lomborg is that the reaction on the part of the book’s fiercest critics ‘‘went beyond the usual unpicking of a thesis and concentrated instead on the role of the publisher in publishing the book at all.’’ This is a highly unusual, but not unheard of, state of affairs in university press publishing. It invites a publisher to explore the considerations leading up to the publishing decision, and in this case the same publisher’s actions in defending its decision after the book’s publication. In both cases, Harrison’s account reflects a high degree of professionalism on the part of Cambridge University Press. In the first place, Cambridge drew on the experience of its social science and natural science editors to pick four peer reviewers of the English translation of the manuscript—not two, as is usual, and is usually adequate, for most university presses. Knowing full well the controversial character of this Danish book from the start, Harrison and his colleagues took every reasonable measure necessary to ensure the quality of their publishing decision—and this decision, made on the basis of four positive reviews, was to recommend to the academic Syndics of the Press that they accept this book for

A University Press Publishing Consortium for Africa: Lessons from Academic Libraries

This article presents the results of a case study of the policies and practices of six African university presses. Based on the findings, it posits the formation of a consortium of African university presses. It borrows heavily from consortium formation in the library world.

A University Press Publishing Consortium for Africa: Lessons from Academic Libraries

This article presents the results of a case study of the policies and practices of six African university presses. Based on the findings, it posits the formation of a consortium of African university presses. It borrows heavily from consortium formation in the library world.

The European Union institutions in the draft Constitution for Europe

This paper deals with the Institutions of the European Union in the draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (hereinafter: ‘the draft Constitution’) submitted to the European Council meeting in Thessaloniki on 20 June 2003. It describes these institutions and their task from a perspective of the Union's democratic legitimacy. The paper is based on a book entitled The European Union: a Polity of States and Peoples, which will be published by Stanford University Press and Hart Publishing, Oxford. In this book, I examine the democratic legitimacy of the European Union as a whole. The book parts from the proposition that the Union is a ‘body politic’ which develops into a federal system, however not a State, with a parliamentary consensual (non-majoritarian) form of government. In the meantime, the draft Treaty has been amended by the Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) held in Brussels on 17/18 June 2004. In so far as the amendments relate to the subject of this paper, they are mentioned below in the text or the endnotes.