Celebrating the first annual University Press Week!

Welcome to the first annual University Press Week! Taking place November 11-17, 2012, University Press Week highlights the extraordinary work of university presses and their many contributions to culture, the academy, and an informed society. It is sponsored by the Association of American University Presses (AAUP).

Since UNC Press is celebrating its 90th anniversary(!) this year, we got a jumpstart on University Press Week activities last week with an interview with our new director John Sherer. Hop on over to Friday’s post for John’s take on the past, present, and future of publishing at UNC Press. Then check out all the things we and other AAUP member presses have in store to celebrate this week.

Did you know?

• AAUP member presses produce more than 12,000 works per year, in both print and digital form.
• The AAUP is comprised of 133 scholarly presses, found in places ranging from Abilene to Toronto, from Kalamazoo to Hong Kong. While almost every major research university has a scholarly press, so too do many smaller institutions, and the collective range of topics covered is fascinating: everything from Christian thought to the geophysics of fracking, from forensic psychiatry to pre-Columbian history, and from poetry to the economics of food.
• University presses collaborate with each other, and with other institutions, in interesting and intrepid ways. Some of the innovative collaborations underway here at UNC Press include partnering with UNC Libraries in projects such as Publishing the Long Civil Rights Movement and DocSouth Books, and partnering with other university presses in projects such as the First Peoples, New Directions in Indigenous Studies initiative.
• Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, AAUP established its Books for Understanding program in recognition that scholarly presses publish knowledge that often cannot be found anywhere else. Now featuring a list of 85 need-to-know topics—and growing—the books represented provide deeply researched information on issues and events of international import. Whether the topic is North Korea or water rights in the Southwest, a university press book has the answers, and the questions, you are looking for.

University Press Week events and features

• Blog tour: 26 university presses (including us!) are participating in a blog tour that begins today at Harvard University Press blog and travels through Duke University Press, Stanford University Press, University of Georgia Press, and University of Missouri Press blogs. I’ll update you here each day this week with links to the featured presses’ blog posts. UNC Press Blog’s contribution to the blog tour is scheduled for Friday, so be sure to tune in then for a special comment from UNC Press director John Sherer. Refer to the full blog tour schedule to see what else to look forward to this week.
• Fine print* (*and digital!): Browse through a slideshow of books, journals, digital collections, and reference works exemplifying the work of AAUP member presses.
• Testimonials: Take a look at the testimonials from writers, thinkers, and public figures about the value of university presses in their lives and communities.
• Press Influence Maps: The regional importance and the global reach of AAUP member presses is often talked about. Using Google Maps, some presses have created visual statements that illustrate their impact on the world around them. Check out the Mapping Our Influence feature.
• #UPWeek: On Twitter? Follow #UPWeek for tweets and links to lots of perspectives and great UP Week features. If you share a link, share the love by adding the #UPWeek hashtag.

Last but not least: THANK YOU for supporting UNC Press and the university press community. When great thinking happens—and gets shared—we all live better.