A library publishing service usually publishesacademic journals and often provides a broader range of publishing services as well.[2] This can include publishing other formats such as scholarlymonographs andconference proceedings.[3] It generally has a preference foropen access publishing.[4]
Library publishing often focuses on electronic publishing rather than print, thus complementing the role of traditional academic presses.[5] Sometimes a library and auniversity press based at the same institution will form a partnership, with each focusing on their own area of expertise.[6][7] For example, theUniversity of Pittsburgh library publishing service publishes peer-reviewed journals and also collaborates with the university press to publishopen access monographs.[8]
Library publishing has a long history and has been around since before the Internet.[11]
In 1990, academic libraries published two of the first scholarly electronic journals on the Internet. The University of Houston Libraries began publishingThe Public-Access Computer Systems Review[12][13] and the Virginia Tech University Libraries began publishing theJournal of the International Academy of Hospitality Research.[14]
The Synergies project (2007-2011) was a collaboration between different Canadian universities to create infrastructure to support institutional publishing activities.[15] A survey conducted by Hahn in 2008 found that at that time 65% of research libraries in North America either had a library publishing service or were considering creating one.[6]
The Library Publishing Coalition was launched in 2013 to provide a hub for library publishing activities.[4] In October 2013, duringOpen Access Week, they launched a Library Publishing Directory[17] which contains information about library publishing activities at 115 academic and research libraries.[18]
^Maxim, G.E. 1965. A history of library publishing, 1600 to the present day. Thesis approved for Fellowship of the Library Association.
^Bailey, Charles W. Jr. (January 1991). "Electronic (Online) Publishing in Action . . . The Public-Access Computer Systems Review and Other Electronic Serials".ONLINE.15:28–35.
