Authored by UNG Press Intern Madelyn Huff | Banner Image “San Diego College Learning Resource – bookshelf” by Joe Crawford is licensed under CC-BY-2.0.
Both university presses and libraries are committed to the promotion of scholarly research, the expansion of accessibility to new information, and the creation of this new information. In honor of National Library Lovers’ Month, this post will explore the relationship between libraries and university presses and what can result when the two work together.
A Brief History
There hasn’t always been close collaboration between university presses and libraries. Historically, libraries have been the major buyers of texts that a university press publishes (Johnson). This tradition set up a producer-consumer relationship until arguments pioneering an increased collaboration between the two entities began in the 1990s. Some arguments pushed for publishing of materials like theses and dissertations while others urged libraries to focus on training authors rather than attempt to form their own library press (Li et al. 3). Conversations surrounding collaboration between university presses and libraries eventually adopted a tone of encouragement and now, as of 2016, about 20 percent of university presses are situated within their institution’s library (Li et al. 4).
Collaboration Results
So, what comes from collaboration between university presses and libraries?
The digitization of the university press’ backlist is one result from this collaboration. Libraries will take “out-of-print or low-sales backlist titles” and convert them into an online space where readers have the opportunity to engage with text they were previously unable to (Crow 6–7).
Journal or book publishing services represent another facet of collaboration between university presses and libraries. Some institutions have formed a library-press imprint that brings together the library’s skills in metadata, copyright, and more and the press’ expertise in areas of copy editing, graphic design, or marketing (Li et al. 6). For example, in Florida, the University Press of Florida has joined with the George A. Smathers Library to form a publishing division seeking to meet the “campus-driven goal[s] of the library” (Babb and Russell 12). Often, collaboration manifests back into the educative community that libraries and university presses strive to serve.
As Li et al. note in “The Library-Press Relationship,” many presses are looking to expand open access resources in publishing, a passion that is found at the heart of library missions (5). The UNG Press is Georgia’s leading press in Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Textbooks. Our commitment to expanding educational resources is one echoed by libraries across the state and reflects one of the major connections between university presses and libraries.
Libraries also collaborate with university press publications through the collection and implementation of supplemental materials. These efforts bolster the digital versions of a printed book with “primary source material, photographs, or audio and video files” (Crow 8).
Final Thoughts
Regardless of the differing roles that university presses and libraries fill, the shared values of education, accessibility, and research help to fuel their relationship. Whether it’s through digitization of a backlist or adding supplementary information to texts, students, educators, and scholars benefit from the variety of resources available to them through collaboration. Libraries and university presses still have much to learn from each other and the UNG Press is eager to champion the development of more exciting projects.
Works Cited
“Affordable Learning Georgia Partnership.” UNG, University of North Georgia, ung.edu/university-press/affordable-learning-georgia-partnership.php. Accessed Feb. 2026.
Babb, Meredith, and Judith Russell. “Why Libraries and University Presses Should Support One Another.” Against the Grain, vol. 27, no. 6, 2015, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.7771/2380-176X.7221.
Crow, Raym. Campus-Based Publishing Partnerships: A Guide to Critical Issues, SPARC, Jan. 2009, sparcopen.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/pub_partnerships_v1.pdf.
Johnson, Qiana. “Scholarly Publishing: Sparking Conversations about a Shifting Landscape.” Dartmouth Libraries, Dartmouth College, 25 Mar. 2024, www.library.dartmouth.edu/news/scholarly-publishing-sparking-conversations.
Li, Yuan, et al. “The Library-Press Partnership: An Overview and Two Case Studies.” Surface, Syracuse University Libraries, 2018, surface.syr.edu/sul/187/.
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