USUP Staff

USU Press staff Kelly Neumann, Michael Spooner, and Dan Miller

USU Press Joins University Press of Colorado

Books Will Continue with USU Press Imprint

A merger between USU Press at Utah State University and the University Press of Colorado has been finalized and approved.

As proposed, the agreement allows USU Press to remain in Merrill-Cazier Library at Utah State, continuing the tradition of academic publishing and retaining the USU Press imprint. The agreement was drafted through the efforts of USU Press, University Libraries at USU and the University Press of Colorado as a way to help USU address a series of budget cuts. USU President Stan Albrecht approved the proposal.

"I am pleased that USU Press will continue to publish books under its name and will remain housed at Merrill-Cazier Library on the Utah State University campus," Albrecht said. "The agreement allows the USU Press publishing legacy to continue while achieving savings to the USU budget."

The final agreement was approved by the USU administration and the university's board of trustees as well as the University Press of Colorado board of trustees. A transition period began in early January 2012, with full implementation targeted for March 2012.

"This is an ideal solution in difficult economic times that allows USU Press to continue publishing," said Richard Clement, dean of Libraries at USU. "It fulfills the needs of all parties."

University Press of Colorado—UPC—exists as a stand-alone nonprofit sponsored by a consortium of Colorado institutions. Currently, eight Colorado universities support UPC through a membership fee structure. Utah State University becomes the ninth dues-paying member institution.

In the new configuration, USU books will continue to be published under the USU Press banner, becoming an imprint of University Press of Colorado. All administrative and production operations will be handed by UPC.

"While the internal structure will be different, there will be little or no change for readers and authors and other constituencies," Clement said.

The business details of the agreement are being finalized.

"We have always believed that a key to survival for a small university press is to remain flexible, responsive to changing realities and open to self-reinvention," said Michael Spooner, director for USU Press. "In Colorado, we found a partner with not only a similar commitment to the mission of scholarly publishing, but with a compatible organizational style."

As a member of UPC, Utah State University will name three trustees to the board of UPC, including Dean of Libraries Clement and two faculty representatives. The UPC board of trustees functions in both a managerial and editorial capacity, with responsibility for fiduciary and operational oversight and book contract approval.

Books acquired through USU Press staff will carry the USU Press logo and the USU Press Scholarly Publications Committee will continue to provide editorial direction for the imprint. Current USU Press digital initiatives will continue, including the commitment to the Hathi Trust, Open Folklore and the USU institutional repository, Digital Commons. University Libraries will continue to provide office space and IT infrastructure for USU Press.

Read more in The Herald Journal

Read more in the Standard-Examiner


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The Press at Utah State University


Utah State University Press is a refereed scholarly publisher and division of Utah State University Libraries. Established in 1972, the Press's mandate is to acquire and publish books of superior quality that win the esteem of readers and that appropriately represent our university to the community of scholars. Vital also to our mission is publication for a broader community, including students, who use our books in their studies, and general readers, who find in them enjoyment as well as enlightenment.

Utah State University Press is an established publisher in the fields of composition studies, creative writing, folklore, Native American studies, nature & environment, Western history, including Mormon history and Western women's history. We also sponsor the annual May Swenson Poetry Award.

During the past decade, many USU Press books have received awards and recognition from various learned societies and other organizations for their scholarship and contribution to their respective fields.

As an active contributor to academe, USU Press attends several academic conferences and exhibits each year. We are a member of the Association of American University Presses, and our books are distributed through the University of Chicago Press Distribution Center.

You can order our books directly online through our shopping cart system, by phone, by mail or fax, as well as through the major online vendors, or through your local bookstore.

We welcome your inquiries and comments.

Staff
Director: Michael Spooner
Marketing Manager and Production: Dan Miller
Editorial Assistant: Kelly Neumann

Utah State University Press
3078 Old Main Hill
Logan, Utah 84322-3078
435-797-1362

An imprint of University Press of Colorado
5589 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite 206C
Boulder, Colorado 80303