UCL Press Plans and Preparation Lara Speicher, Publishing Manager UCL Library Forum, 26 February 2014
Background • One of the few universities in the top 10 in the world not to have its own press • UCL Press imprint licensed to a commercial publisher, Taylor and Francis for c. 10 years • By 2007 they were no longer publishing new books under the imprint • Paul Ayris negotiated its repatriation to UCL in August 2013 • I joined in November 2013 as Publishing Manager
What will UCL Press publish? • Scholarly monographs, conference proceedings and textbooks • Initially, these will be sought from UCL academics • We will consider all subject areas • We will also seek books by non-UCL authors • Later, we will consider other publishing genres
What is UCL Press’s mission? • The mission of UCL Press is: - To publish books of the highest academic excellence that reflect the innovative, global research undertaken at UCL - To create a publishing programme as innovative as UCL itself
How to set up a university press • • • Promote the Press to potential authors Establish Faculty editorial boards Recruitment of publishing team Website, budget planning and systems software Developing the publishing strategy Operations eg the commissioning, peer review, editorial and production processes, sales, marketing, distribution (in-house v outsourced)
When will UCL Press start publishing? • • First call for proposals in The Week@UCL 13 Feb Simultaneously, visits to faculties, departments First proposals Feb 2014 First manuscripts delivered March 2014 September 2014 • Launch and publication of first list: Spring 2015
How will UCL Press operate • All authors will have to submit a proposal for consideration by the UCL Press Board • Faculty publishing boards recommend and review proposals • All manuscripts will be peer reviewed • All books will be professionally copy-edited and typeset by external suppliers • The production processes will be managed by UCL Press staff
Sales, marketing and publicity • All books available free online in UCL Discovery – Open Access • Sold on the UCL Press website • All books sold in print-on-demand editions and consumer ebooks, via Amazon, UCL Press’s own website, wholesalers, worldwide sales • Marketing and publicity, including advertising, promotional brochures and flyers, review copies sent out, social media campaigns
Open Access • All UCL Press books will be made available as Open Access • Open Access maximises the dissemination and visibility of research worldwide • Many funders already have OA mandates in place • UCL is at the forefront of promoting OA: the OA team has already funded around 1200 UCL authors to make their work available as OA
Challenges • Uncertainty felt by authors about publishing their book with an unproven publisher • Many authors want their work published by a wellknown, established publisher • Inevitably takes time to establish a strong reputation to attract the best authors • Not all authors are happy about Open Access but the OA landscape is changing rapidly and will increasingly become the norm in scholarly publishing
Opportunities • UCL renowned for its world-class research • Ranked 4 thin the QS World League Tables 2013 • UCL takes an innovative approach to research • UCL Press is in an excellent position to capitalise on the work of UCL and to publish books that reflect the innovation of its academics
Journals hosting service • UCL Discovery hosts journals publishing software (Open Journals System) • Articles hosted in UCL Discovery. • OJS facilitates processes such as peer review • Journals boards manage themselves and UCL Press advises the boards on technical issues • Already have the Journal of Bentham Studies and Slovo, with others in the pipeline
Business model • All books will be available free online – Open Access • The Press is funded from UCL’s research budget • The aim is to achieve a cost-recovery model by year three • Achieved through the sale of Po. D and consumer ebook editions • All books by UCL authors will be fully funded by the Press
Conclusion • While there are undoubtedly many challenges ahead, UCL Press has a wonderful opportunity to create an exciting new university press in London
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