Michigan St. University (MSU) Press Merges with MSU Libraries

In a move that reflects both a national trend and a campus commitment to partnership, Michigan State University Press has merged with Michigan State University Libraries. The announcement was made by Dean of Libraries Joseph A. Salem, Jr.

“We’re thrilled about this partnership, and we think it’s a natural way to support scholarly publication and strengthen our mutual commitment to learning,” Salem said. “Like other academic libraries, MSU Libraries has taken an active role in scholarly publishing. And, like other academic libraries, we’ve always had an important relationship with our university press.”

The merge was effective May 1, but the process of integrating both units will evolve as a gradual transition. Dean Salem’s oversight of MSU Press began at the beginning of the month, but the Press will continue operations in its current location in the Manly Miles building, and the two budgets will remain separated.

MSU Press Director Gabriel Dotto said the partnership will increase the opportunities inherent in Press-Library synergies. “We anticipate exploring more unique library collections to generate new publications; building our list in Digital Humanities, conceived both as traditional monographs and as born-digital projects; and enhancing the Press’s commitment toward finding sustainable models of open access, building on the two MSU-based OA journals the Press already publishes,” Dotto said.

Dotto also cited further opportunities related to MSU Press’s longstanding commitment to digital delivery of its content. “MSU Press journals were present early on in electronic platforms like Muse and Jstor,” he said. “And MSUP was recently invited, along with the presses with MSU Libraries  of Penn State and Illinois, to participate in the Scholarly Publishing Collective, a new journals platform to be hosted by Duke University Press.

Read the Complete Announcement