University press

A university press is an academic publishing house specializing in academic monographs and scholarly journals. Most are nonprofit and an integral component of a large research university. They publish work that has been reviewed by scholars in the field. They produce mainly scholarly works, but also often have "popular" titles, such as books on religion or on regional topics. Because scholarly books are mostly unprofitable, university presses may also publish textbooks and reference works, which tend to have larger audiences and sell more copies. Most university presses operate at a loss and are subsidized by their owners; others are required to break even. Demand has fallen as library budgets are cut and the online sales of used books undercut the new book market. Many presses are experimenting with electronic publishing.

Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press are the two oldest and largest university presses in the world. They have scores of branches around the world, especially throughout the British Commonwealth.

In the United States, colonial colleges required printers to publish university catalogs, ceremonial materials, and a limited number of scholarly publications. Following the 17th-century work of Harvard College printer Samuel Green, William Hilliard of Cambridge, Massachusetts began publishing materials under the name "University Press" in 1802. Modern university presses emerged in the United States in the late 19th century. Cornell University started one in 1869 but had to close it down; Johns Hopkins University Press has been in continuous operation since 1878.University of Pennsylvania (1890), Chicago (1891), California (1893), Northwestern University Press (1893), and Columbia University (1893) followed.

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