Cambridge University Press and
Oxford University Press are the two oldest and largest university presses in the world. They have scores of branches around the world, especially throughout the
Commonwealth of Nations. In the
United States,
colonial colleges required printers to publish university catalogs, ceremonial materials, and a limited number of scholarly publications. Following the 17th-century work of
Harvard College printer
Samuel Green, William Hilliard of
Cambridge, Massachusetts, began publishing materials under the name "University Press" in 1802. Modern university presses emerged in the United States in the late 19th century.
Cornell University started one in 1869 but had to close it down, only restarting operations in 1930;
Johns Hopkins University Press has been in continuous operation since 1878. The
University of Pennsylvania Press (1890),
University of Chicago Press (1891),
Stanford University Press (1892),
Columbia University Press (1893),
University of California Press (1893), and
Northwestern University Press (1893) followed.
Asia By the time of independence in 1947,
India had a well-established system of universities, and several leading ones developed a university press. The main areas of activity include
monographs by professors, research papers and theses, and textbooks for undergraduate use. However, the basic problem faced by scholarly publishers in India is the use of multiple
languages, which splintered and reduced the base of potential sales.
Africa Oxford University Press opened a
South African office in 1915 to distribute its books in the region. The first South African university press was established in 1922 at
Witwatersrand University. Several other South African universities established presses during the 20th century and, as of 2015, four were actively publishing. As new universities opened in Africa after 1960, some developed a press based on the European model. In
Nigeria for example, scholarly presses have played a central role in shaping and encouraging intellectual efforts and gaining international attention for scholarly production. However, the established European presses, especially Oxford University Press, have dominated the market, allowing a narrow niche for new local presses such as Ibadan University Press, now
University Press Plc.
Europe In
England,
Cambridge University Press traces its founding to 1534, when
King Henry VIII granted the university
letters patent, giving it the right to print its own books, and its active publishing program to 1584.
Oxford University began publishing books the following year in 1585 and acquired a charter in 1632. In
Scotland Archie Turnbull (1923-2003) served as the long-time director of the
Edinburgh University Press, 1952-87. The British university presses had strong expansion in the 1950s and 1960s. The
Edinburgh University Press became the leading Scottish academic publisher. It was especially famous for publishing major books on the history and literature of Scotland, and by enlisting others in Scotland.
Ibero-American Ibero-American university publishing accounts for 9% of all ISBN-registered books on the subcontinent. University presses play a vital role in transferring knowledge from universities to society through the publication of academic books, such as scientific, technical, and educational texts.
Oceania In
Australia, the
University of Melbourne was the first to establish its own press:
Melbourne University Press, set up to sell books and stationery in 1922, began publishing academic monographs soon after and is the second-oldest publishing house in Australia. Other Australian universities followed suit in following decades, including the
University of Western Australia Press (1935),
University of Queensland Press (1948) and
Sydney University Press (1962). In the later part of the 20th century some of these presses closed down or were taken over by larger international presses. Some survived and built strong reputations for publishing literature, poetry and serious non-fiction. In the 21st century several Australian universities have revived their presses or established new ones. Their business models and publishing approaches vary considerably. Some publish chiefly for general readers while others publish only scholarly books. Several have experimented with
Open Access publishing and/or electronic-only publishing. Some supplement their publishing income by offering distribution services or operating bookshops. In January 2019 Melbourne University Press announced a plan to focus increasingly on scholarly books rather than the commercial successes it had become known for, prompting a public debate about the role of university presses. In
New Zealand, several universities operate scholarly presses.
Auckland University Press has been operating since 1966 and
Victoria University Press since the 1970s.
North America The Association of Presses (AUP) In 2023, the
Association of University Presses (AUP) has over 150 member presses. Growth has been sporadic, with 14 presses established in the 1940s, 11 in the 1950s; and 19 in the 1960s. Since 1970, 16 universities have opened presses and several have closed. Today, the largest university press in the United States is the
University of Chicago Press. University presses tend to develop specialized areas of expertise, such as regional studies. For instance,
Yale University Press publishes many art books, the
Chicago,
Duke, and
Indiana University Presses publish many academic journals, the
University of Illinois Press specializes in
labor history,
MIT Press publishes linguistics and architecture titles,
Northwestern University Press publishes in
continental philosophy,
poetry, and the
performing arts, and the
Catholic University of America Press publishes works that deal with Catholic theology, philosophy, and church history.
Chicago Distribution Center The Distribution Services Division provides the University of Chicago Press's warehousing, customer service, and related services. The Chicago Distribution Center (CDC) began providing distribution services in 1991, when the
University of Tennessee Press became its first client. Currently the CDC serves nearly 100 publishers including
Stanford University Press,
University of Minnesota Press,
University of Iowa Press,
Temple University Press,
Northwestern University Press, and many others. Since 2001, with development funding from the
Mellon Foundation, the Chicago Digital Distribution Center (CDDC) has been offering digital printing services and the
BiblioVault digital repository services to book publishers. In 2009, the CDC enabled the sales of electronic books directly to individuals and provided digital delivery services for the
University of Michigan Press among others. The Chicago Distribution Center has also partnered with an additional 15 presses including the
University of Missouri Press,
West Virginia University Press, and publications of the
Getty Foundation. ==Recent developments==