Aberdeen and Michigan announce trans-Atlantic publishing partnership

The University of Aberdeen and the University of Michigan have come together to launch a new trans-Atlantic publishing partnership that will amplify the reach of Aberdeen’s boundary-breaking research.

Aberdeen University Press (AUP) has over the years published a number of important works, most notably Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain (1977) and Michael Fry’s Patronage and Principle: A Political History of Modern Scotland (1987). It now joins a proven and growing network of open access presses that operate on Michigan’s publishing infrastructure.

The University of Michigan Library’s Publishing division (which includes the University of Michigan Press) has a rich history of publishing expertise and continues to lead in the development of digital scholarship and to support the dissemination of quality knowledge as widely and freely as possible. Michigan Publishing seeks to engage with practical challenges such as contract terms, discoverability, and sustainability so that Open Access works for the benefit of all users from authors, researchers, and students to readers around the world.

Aberdeen will provide the visioning and editorial leadership, while Michigan will deliver production and distribution infrastructure.

AUP currently hosts two well-respected journals, has published an array of open-access books, and is actively working with new authors and editors under the auspices of its Academic Board. It is committed to being an entirely open-access, open-source, academy-owned publisher, aligned with  university press values of research integrity, intellectual freedom, equity and inclusion, and responsible stewardship.

The Michigan partnership will allow AUP to further expand its reach to publish researchers whose work advances the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary strategic strengths of Aberdeen University, irrespective of their affiliation.

Professor Nick Forsyth, Vice Principal (Research) at the University of Aberdeen, said: “A commitment to boundary-breaking defines Aberdeen University’s strategic future, whether those boundaries be geographical or disciplinary in nature.”

“In the developing open-access environment, we believe this ocean-spanning partnership advances our distinctive mission.”

Lisa Carter, Dean of Libraries at the University of Michigan, added: “We are excited to be working together with Aberdeen to develop, cultivate, and support new publishing models that maximise access to high-quality scholarship.”

“In an increasingly networked research environment, it is important for our mission-aligned organisations to be able to serve authors and readers internationally.”

The Aberdeen University Press Academic Board welcomes book and journal proposals from the global research community across all disciplines.

More information is at https://aberdeenunipress.org/