William & Mary Mvskoke cover

William and Mary’s Mvskoke Language Patterns

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Responding to the Community

Mvskoke Language Patterns by Jack Martin

Published by William & Mary Press

Mvskoke Language Patterns is a resource for those learning Mvskoke, a critically endangered language, spoken in east-central Oklahoma by members of the Muscogee Nation. Designed to help those learning their heritage language, it describes the alphabet and basic patterns speakers use in daily conversation, and includes a collection of phrases.

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has 100,000 citizens, but only about 400 people speak their heritage language. There are online groups of mostly young people studying Mvskoke on their own, but they struggle with pronunciation and grammar. There are very few sources someone can use to study this language.

Working with a library publisher

I learned about publishing with the library through conversations with another colleague at William & Mary, Michael Halleran, who previously published with William & Mary Libraries’ WM Press.

Authors sometimes need more help with projects that don’t fit traditional academic publishing. This was one of them. I needed to be able to put out a first edition and to be able to easily update it. I also needed to publish audio.

William & Mary’s Swem Library provided very competent advice throughout the project, from choosing a publishing platform to editing Word documents for import into Pressbooks.

Opportunities for working with a library publisher

Working with a library publisher is closely tied to creating open source content. Open source content is more affordable, of course, but it’s also more accessible. That means that it has the potential for greater impact and reach. This was particularly important for this resource as Muscogee is also spoken in the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma (10,000 citizens) and within the Seminole Tribe of Florida (3,000 citizens). The opportunity for this resource to be shared and freely used to all those interested in learning their heritage language, and beyond, is possible with a library publisher. 

Traditional academic publishers are interested in physical books and ebooks, but people who work with language want readers to be able to hear the language. That calls for a platform like PressBooks that can handle multimedia. Mvskoke is meant to be accessible, and also serve as a reference for how language is structured. Working with library publishing also easily allows Mvskoke to be expanded in coming years to include more topics with additional audio recordings. I worked collaboratively with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation to create this resource. Library publishing embraces resources created from collaborative work with various authors and communities.

 

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Middle Tennessee State University’s Journal of Advancement, Communication, and Development in Academic Libraries

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Responding to the Community

Journal of Advancement, Communication, and Development in Academic Libraries

Published by Journals @ MTSU

The Journal of Advancement, Communication, and Development in Academic Libraries publishes articles that feature strategies and case studies in support of strategic fundraising and communication in academic libraries, reflecting diverse advancement operations, from single-staffed offices to expansive operations. 

The demand for academic library fundraising grows each year as institutions seek alternative sources of support. This journal reflects the mission of the Academic Library Advancement and Development Network (ALADN), an informal community of professionals dedicated to fundraising and advancement for academic libraries across the United States and Canada.

Working with a library publisher

As Dean of the James E. Walker Library, I was impressed by the scope and quality of our journal publishing environment when I started in 2021. Gaining deeper insight into library publishing, I developed full confidence in our digital scholarship librarian and the robust infrastructure supporting high-quality scholarly publishing.

At the 2023 ALADN conference, I proposed the creation of a new journal focused on academic library fundraising, recognizing a gap in existing literature. After I recruited experts in the field. I partnered with our MTSU digital scholarship librarian to develop the journal’s structure and ensure strong digital publishing practices, leveraging the library’s well-organized hosting processes, expertise, and available platforms. Collaboration was a key factor in the decision. Cost was another consideration. The digital scholarship librarian provided expert guidance, walking me through journal management options, explaining the benefits and drawbacks of the various processes and platforms. One significant advantage of partnering with the library publisher was the ability to accelerate the journal’s development. The established processes and expertise allowed us to move forward quickly and efficiently, ensuring a smooth and successful launch. We additionally showcased the library’s publishing platform. 

Opportunities for working with a library publisher

The library publishing environment presents a unique opportunity to respond to the evolving content needs of our library fundraising community. By leveraging our expertise in information management, content, and established publishing workflows, we can provide flexible, high-quality solutions that align with scholarly communication priorities and support diversity in the field of library fundraising. One of the greatest advantages of library publishing is its responsiveness and speed. Unlike traditional publishers, we can move from concept to publication quickly due to streamlined workflows and direct collaboration, without compromising content quality or dissemination.

Advice for colleagues considering working with libraries to publish 

I strongly recommend engaging more intentionally with the library publishing community. There are meaningful opportunities not only to strengthen this community but also to elevate our own work by expanding and investing in library publishing initiatives.   Doing so allows us greater control over the content lifecycle and aligns publishing decisions with our institutional values. As subject experts, libraries are well-positioned to ensure quality, accessibility, and relevance of information. Moreover, library publishing infrastructure is more responsive and adaptable than is often assumed, enabling us to embrace evolving scholarly needs and to support innovative, mission-driven forms of publication.

 

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AI in Education cover

Virginia Commonwealth University’s ​AI in Education

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Responding to the Community

AI in Education: Teaching, Learning, and Thinking with Machines, edited by Mary Strawderman

Published by VCU Libraries

This resource is a unique, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed collection on generative AI in education, featuring contributions from K-12 teachers, academics, students, and administrators. Together, the pieces draw on a humanities framework to examine various dimensions of AI’s impact on education while questioning its broader implications and constraints. 

The intended impact is to provide practical knowledge for immediate use and stimulate discussion. The authors have disseminated their work by collectively presenting at an “unconference” and a regional research consortium. They have also been invited to speak at a “critical conversations” series based around the coming wave of AI.

Working with a library publisher

The collection’s editorial board and the VCU Humanities Research Center, Digital Technology in Education working group members, worked closely with Katharine Miller, Scholarly Communications Librarian, and Karen Bjork, Head, Digital Libraries and Publishing from VCU Libraries, to publish the collection via VCU Scholars Compass.

One of our working group members, who often publishes research briefs for their center through the institutional repository, VCU Scholars Compass, suggested that we publish through VCU Libraries. I looked at other library publications and eventually met with Katharine and Karen to learn more about how it would work.

Opportunities for working with a library publisher

Library publishing allowed us to publish the collection as a free, accessible resource without paywalls or open-access fees. We wanted to broadly disseminate our resource and felt VCU Scholars Compass was a great fit. Because this was a fully formed, multidisciplinary collection, publishing elsewhere would have likely been difficult and may have required a special issue or book process with additional hurdles and delays. 

Another reason we went this route was due to the collection’s multimodality; the authors included videos, audio files, and many supplementary resources with their pieces. The library accommodates nontraditional formats and contributions/voices, which made it possible to house the supplementary, audio, and video materials in one location. 

The support we received from Katharine and Karen was invaluable as they worked closely with us on the collection’s formatting, ADA accessibility, and many other components. 

Advice for colleagues considering working with libraries to publish

Publishing through the library can increase discoverability and impact through open access and Google Scholar indexing. It is a great format for nontraditional works, such as teaching resources, student and practitioner perspectives, collections, policy briefs, conference proceedings, multimodal works, books, and more, without the fees, paywalls, or restrictions of most standard publishing avenues. Scholars Compass can also host journals or sequential issues of a collection, which may be ideal for working groups, hands-on class projects, or organizations/chapters that want to release work in an ongoing series. 

 

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Wikipedia logo with cap

CUNYpedia

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Responding to the Community

Wikipedia as open educational platform

Sample Course Page. Other examples via CUNYpedia

Librarians and instructors at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY have partnered with Wikipedia as an open educational platform to host student work. This work is an example of an increasingly necessary educational approach to counter the challenges posed by an information ecosystem that is being radically transformed. Direct participation with the commons by librarians, scholars, and students, is key to combatting the cynicism that now shadows the creation of knowledge.

This collaborative work has been happening at CUNY with the support of our librarians, archivists, administration, and numerous classroom faculty. The Wikimedia Foundation, Wiki Education Foundation, and other grant funders have also supported.

Publishing opportunities supported by libraries

Starting 15 years ago, instructional technology librarian Ann Matsuuchi and composition professor Dr. Ximena Gallardo, an English composition professor, developed a library publishing collaboration at LaGuardia Community College focused on open publishing on Wikipedia. When classroom work is limited to paywalled, commercial venues, the opportunity for showcasing student accomplishments with the wider world is lost.  When Ann learned about the possibility of teaching with Wikipedia from Wikimedia NYC organizers who held workshops at New York City libraries, she saw the chance to get students involved in editing public information.

Working in the library, Ann was able to support classroom faculty using Wikipedia. With a library focus on information, she could provide important help editing an open information source whose impact is unmatched. Publishing edits to Wikipedia, students, scholars, and archivists can effectively share their research and writing with the world. CUNY. Over the years, students and others in our CUNY community have published numerous Wikipedia entries and WikiBooks chapters whose pageviews alone merely hints at the larger impact of the work produced.   

Advice for colleagues considering working with libraries on publishing

Libraries can serve as the enablers for this kind of project, and serve as partners in these innovative pedagogical ventures. A few of the Wikipedia entries created by our students are highlighted here. Students appreciated how they might share their work in such a visible, accessible location, and learned how they are connected with the global Wikipedia community.

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Brass Techniques and Pedagogy cover

Butler University’s Brass Techniques and Pedagogy (2nd edition)

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Making Music

Brass Techniques and Pedagogy (2nd edition) 

Published by the PALNI Open Press (Author: Brian N. Weidner—also see author profile here.) 

Brass Techniques and Pedagogy is intended to serve as a guide for the band music educator. The text is written with the non-brass playing music education student in mind and focuses on developing beginning levels of brass technique alongside a more expansive understanding of brass fundamentals and pedagogy.

Why library publishing

The PALNI Open Press’s most popular OER is Brass Techniques and Pedagogy, and it is an example of an author-led project utilizing multimedia. The author Brian N. Weidner— see author profile here-—remarked that “PALNI made the publication process simple through the PressBooks platform. The OER community makes soliciting feedback easy, as those who use the materials are able to comment on them and provide public transparency to that feedback. Best of all, I have continued to edit my materials based on that feedback, so the text continues to become stronger and more effective with time.”

Is there anything that you could do through library publishing that you couldn’t if the program was elsewhere?

The author continued, “The community that is forming around OER was not something I expected. I appreciate the ability to get peer review, just as I would if this book was traditionally distributed. The benefit here is that the materials remain easily accessible for further editing and redistribution. Within six months of first publishing this book, without any significant promotion, it had been adopted at numerous large programs in music education and I received feedback from their faculty, which has in turn improved the text and made it even more useful for other programs.”

 

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Fundamentals of Music Theory cover

Edinburgh Diamond’s Fundamentals of Music Theory

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Making Music

Fundamentals of Music Theory 

Published by Edinburgh Diamond, University of Edinburgh 

Fundamentals of Music Theory was a collaboration between the Open Educational Resources team, Reid School of Music staff and students, and the Library (all University of Edinburgh). Presents educational materials on the building blocks of musical stave notation, a language in use globally and designed to communicate about musical ideas.

Impact

Since publication, Fundamentals of Music Theory has had almost 55,000 downloads. This Open Access e-textbook is a great example of the power of collaboration between Open Education Resource teams and Library Publishing teams, as well as between staff and students.

Why library publishing?

Library publishing is a fast-growing area in the UK, combining librarian and publisher knowledge while centering researchers. Edinburgh Diamond – the University of Edinburgh’s library publishing partner – has significantly grown in recent years, including the launch of our book publishing programme in 2021. Partnering with Edinburgh Diamond means authors benefit from professional publishing services, including a publishing platform, ISBN and DOI allocation, archiving and preservation, cataloguing and indexing, access to usage statistics, ongoing technical support, outreach activities, and publishing support. Even better, Edinburgh Diamond is free for staff and students of the University of Edinburgh! 

 

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Black Music in Theory icon

Michigan Publishing Services’s Black Music, in Theory

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Making Music

Black Music in Theory 

Published by Michigan Publishing Services 

Black Music, in Theory offers a space for thoughtful scholarship on Black music to incubate and flourish. Our goal is to publish topnotch pieces that treat Black music and musical genres with the dignity, humanity, and care that they deserve.

Why library publishing?

Black Music, in Theory benefits from a rich heritage of Open Access scholarship by Black scholars. Ever since Black Music Research Journal ceased operations in 2016 there has been a void for Black-led scholarship on Black music in journal publications. BMiT fills this void while honoring this rich heritage. As a small but dedicated team, Michigan Publishing Services (MPS) prioritizes their mission of accessibility, diversity, and preservation in their open access journal publication. Furthermore, the managing editors can access the work that they wrote and published, which isn’t always the case with large for-profit publishers.  

Advice for colleagues considering working with libraries to publish?

Do it! I recently had a piece come out with a top journal through a large for-profit publisher. At least I think I did, since I can’t access it through the paywall. I see the title, but my institution doesn’t have access, and I don’t feel like paying $60 for something that I wrote myself. This is why I’d recommend that colleagues work with a library publisher. The large corporate publishers don’t really care about the scholarship, and they’re unavailable when you need help.

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Marian University’s “Beyond the White Coat,” a student-run medical journal

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Engaging Students

Beyond the White Coat

Published by Marian University’s Mother Theresa Hackelmeier Memorial Library/PALNI Open Press

Beyond the White Coat is a student-run medical journal from Marian University. BTWC was established to provide a platform for medical students to share their experiences, insights, and scholarly work. The journal fosters engagement in academic writing, critical thinking, and peer collaboration while promoting professional growth and confidence in scholarly communication.

Describe the impact of your resource? 

By featuring reflective narratives, research highlights, and perspectives on medical education and patient care, the journal encourages students to develop their voice as future physicians and leaders. Additionally, it serves as a unique opportunity for mentorship, editorial experience, and leadership development, ensuring that students gain skills that extend beyond the classroom and into their professional careers.

Why library publishing? 

Beyond the White Coat gives medical students hands-on experience in writing, peer review, and publishing while building confidence and professional skills. For readers, it amplifies student perspectives and encourages reflection on emerging ideas in medicine and healthcare. Through PALNI Open Press, with support from Marian University Library and faculty, students publish on open, widely discoverable platforms—connecting their work to the broader academic community. Library publishing provides professional guidance and infrastructure that may not exist elsewhere, helping students develop scholarly skills while extending the reach and impact of their voices beyond campus.

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Simon Fraser Poetry Anthology Covers

Simon Fraser University Canada’s “Restraints on the Impassive Soul: Confinement in English Poetry of the Long Eighteenth Century” and “Blossom, Fade, and Die Away: English Poetry of Youth and Aging in the Long Eighteenth Century,” open access course books.

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Engaging Students

Restraints on the Impassive Soul: Confinement in English Poetry of the Long Eighteenth Century

Blossom, Fade, and Die Away: English Poetry of Youth and Aging in the Long Eighteenth Century

Published by Simon Fraser University, Canada’s Digital Publishing Series

This anthology of little-known eighteenth-century English poetry was created by students in Engl 320. Each student selected a poem from the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive based on a shared theme, researched the author, wrote a headnote, edited the poem using class-established principles, and added explanatory footnotes.

Describe the impact of your resource? 

Students gained a c.v./resume publication with an ISBN and hands-on experience with peer editing and editorial workflows. Many felt more confident as scholars and writers and could share tangible results with friends and family. The project also brought greater attention to little-known poets, especially women and writers from diverse backgrounds.

Why library publishing? 

Library publishing offered a convenient way to support the home institution while providing students with a professional platform for their work. The partnership gave the class flexibility over content, formatting, layout, and cover design—control that isn’t always available through traditional publishing. Because the projects were embedded in coursework, publishing made learning more authentic and increased student engagement and ownership. Library publishing also supports peer editing and factchecking, helping students build practical editorial skills while producing scholarship they’re proud to share.

 

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UMass OJSSR cover

University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Open Journal for Students’ and New Scientists’ Research (OJSSR)

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Engaging Students

Open Journal for Students’ and New Scientists’ Research (OJSSR)

Published by University of Massachusetts Amherst 

OJSSR is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal empowering high school students, undergraduates, and early-career scientists to publish real-world, data-driven research. Guided by educators and mentors, contributors transform class projects, independent studies, internships, and explorations into rigorous, citable publications that advance learning, credibility, and scientific impact through inclusive, ethical, professional scholarly publishing.

Watch a short video about OJSSR.

Describe the impact of your resource? 

Scholarly publishing is a challenge for students and early career scholars. OJSSR changes this by providing both a platform and an opportunity for undergraduate and high achieving high school students to publish in an indexed peer reviewed journal, coupled with mentorship. 

Why library publishing? 

The UMass Amherst Libraries provide not only technical support and journal publishing software at no cost, but also tailored training and advising for new publications. This customized support helps advance the journal’s educational vision, making publication a fully experiential process. We are mentored while building a network of student and faculty mentors to support the journal—something we likely wouldn’t receive from a non-library publisher, especially at no cost. Library publishing is a strong fit because it aligns with our educational and mentorship mission, offering professional infrastructure alongside individualized guidance, flexibility, and mission-driven priorities.

 

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University of Alberta’s Student Journal Showcase Poster

University of Alberta’s Student Journal Showcase: Open Access Week 2024

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Engaging Students

Student Journal Showcase: Open Access Week

Published by University of Alberta Library

The UAlberta Library and URI hosted a student journal showcase during Open Access Week 2024. Posters for each journal highlighted the editors, research recently published, and available volunteer opportunities.The showcase was set up in a Galleria space. A reception with participating journals also welcomed members of the university community.

Describe the impact of your resource? 

The program led to increased student engagement across campus, including a 40% rise in research support inquiries at URI, new requests to share research and volunteer, and the launch of a new student journal. Its collaborative, student-centered approach amplified student voices while building awareness of student publishing across the university.

Why library publishing? 

Library publishing offers built-in space, infrastructure, and support that make hosting exhibits and events seamless—from equipment to staffing to established processes. This allows programs to focus on student work and engagement rather than logistics. Student journals provide meaningful experiential learning for editorial board members and authors alike, and library publishing creates a visible platform to showcase that work. Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive, with journals seeing increased engagement after events. For prospective authors and editors, library publishing offers a supportive, collaborative environment that amplifies student voices and demonstrates the real value of student scholarship.

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First page of Walz article

University Libraries at Virginia Tech’s Open Education Initiative

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Innovating and Adapting

Transforming LaTeX to Accessible and Inclusive Formats: A Guide for Open Educational Resources

Published by Open Education Initiative of the Scholarly Communication Department at the University Libraries

 Many STEM authors like to write in LaTeX but making those publications accessible for blind and low-vision readers is challenging for small publishers and for those without a lot of technical support. This is especially the case for OER publishers. After several years of exploration, the Open Education Initiative has documented a process for conversion of LaTeX into html and EPUB. It was published on October 27th in an open access article. This fills a significant need and we are excited to finally be able to share this!

Impact:

This article is a significant and practical contribution to literature and OER publishing as practiced by hundreds of small practitioners and individual scholars who may be struggling to make long-form LaTeX-authored work more accessible for readers who use screen readers — without re-keying it.

Why library publishing:

The OEI is a service unit within the Libraries’ Scholarly Communication department. The work the OEI does in OER development within a university brings us in touch with subject matter experts from a variety of disciplines. These experts talk with us about their goals and challenges in teaching and learning not exclusively, but mainly as they relate to course materials. Being situated within a learning organization allows us to more closely collaborate, learn together, adopt flexible workflows, to run pilots, and to try out new methods, formats, and processes. It also allows us to spot trends and issues across many disciplines — including assessing needs for better solutions for accessibility of LaTeX created long-form documents using existing and reusable source files.

 

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VIVA Print on Demand Site Header

VIVA’s Print on Demand Service

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Innovating and Adapting

VIVA’s Print on Demand Service

Published by VIVA, Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium  

VIVA’s e-commerce site provides print versions of OER created by VIVA and other books from VIVA member libraries for sale at cost, or the cost to print and run the website, plus shipping. No profit is made by VIVA or its member institutions. Most books are also available for free online, with links included in the book’s record. 

Impact

The site allows us to track book purchases, so we can see how many people are using the book in print and where it is being adopted. Even without capturing digital uses, we’ve been excited to see the high demand for our OER in both Virginia and across the country!

Why library publishing

At VIVA, we try to level the playing field of higher education in Virginia. As a library publishing program, our ecommerce site allows us to live this work in practice by ensuring that students have the resources they need for class, in a format that best meets their needs, at a reasonable cost. So far, our books have been under $20. Further, by focusing on users rather than sales, we’re a great fit for print-on-demand. This method reduces overhead print run and warehousing costs, maximizing savings for consumers, and ensures that books will be available no matter how many orders are placed. 

 

 

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MTSU Walker Library and Towson University Cook Library share insights about growing a publishing program

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Cultivating the Commons

Schmand, K., Garczynski, J. & Miller, A., (2025) “Empowering Libraries and Growing Knowledge: How to Cultivate a New Open Access Journal”, Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education 3(2), 30-40. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/joerhe.20349

This published, peer-reviewed article outlines the steps to growing knowledge through open access publishing using a journal development case study centred on the development of the Journal of Advancement, Communication, and Development in Academic Libraries (JACDAL) published by Journals@MTSU (James E. Walker Library, MTSU). As a case study proceeding, the journal editors and publishing experts share how they got started, key technical, stylistic, and content choices, and how they promoted and intend to grow their new open journal.

The results discussed in the published article benefit general readers with open access publishing aspirations or goals and readers specifically interested in subject content for academic libraries, fundraising, and advancement topics. The paper enables others to benefit by learning about the unique journal content and from lessons and guidance about the development and editorial process of cultivating and growing a new open-access journal.

This article also highlights the LPC Curriculum and its introductory pathway for library publishing as a fundamental resource when starting a new open access journal. As a result, the journal development process described in the article shares methods for other open access journals and library publishing programs to strengthen OA publishing opportunities. Such opportunities may not be readily available or financially possible with commercial or traditional publishing venues. The value of library publishing is foundational to OA publishing success.  

 

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An Intro to Geospatial Thinking OER cover

Washington University in St. Louis’s DI2 Accelerator Award for Open Educational Resources

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Saving Students Money Through OER

DI2 Accelerator Award for Open Educational Resources

The Scholarly Communications & Digital Publishing (ScholPub) department at WashU Libraries presented a proposal to the university’s Digital Intelligence & Innovation Accelerator (DI2) to fund instructors developing Open Educational Resources (OER). The DI2 Accelerator Award offered three funding tiers for adopting, adapting, or creating OER, and ultimately supported eight projects.

Describe the impact of your resource? 

The program has increased campus engagement with OER by supporting faculty in creating resources for WashU courses. Impact is tracked through downloads, views, and instructor feedback. It has strengthened the university-wide OER Interest Group, fostered cross-campus collaboration, and positioned the Libraries as a key partner in advancing teaching, learning, and affordability.

Why library publishing? 

Hosting a publishing program through the Libraries provides a central point of access for the entire university, supporting projects across schools and regardless of faculty, staff, or student affiliation. Library staff collaborate with subject librarians, provide platforms, training, copyright guidance, cataloging, technical support, and long-term preservation. This infrastructure enables broader participation and ensures high-quality, sustainable publications—resources often unavailable outside the library. Prospective authors and editors receive hands-on support, training in digital publishing tools, troubleshooting assistance, and guidance from project start to finish, helping their work succeed while navigating the publishing process with confidence.

 

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Past Makes Perfect cover

Excelsior University’s “Past Makes Perfect: A Mini Handbook for Student Historians”

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Saving Students Money Through OER

Past Makes Perfect: A Mini Handbook for Student Historians

Past Makes Perfect: A Mini Handbook for Student Historians is a textbook for history students that covers all of the tips and tricks historians use in easy bite sized formats. This textbook was created as part of the Open Education Network’s Ketida pilot program.

Describe the impact of your resource? 

This open textbook is available through both the Pressbooks Directory and Excelsior’s institutional repository, SOAR (DSpace). As of December 2025, it has received over 1,500 views, with the highest engagement from readers in the United States, Canada, and Japan—demonstrating its growing international reach and impact.

 

Why library publishing? 

Excelsior University’s publishing program, ExPress, is part of The Open Hub, the university’s one-stop shop for open education. ExPress works alongside SOAR (DSpace), Excelsior’s institutional repository. When a work is published in ExPress, it’s added to both the Pressbooks Directory and SOAR, with two versions deposited in SOAR: a static PDF and a link to the Pressbooks edition. The static version supports Excelsior’s course development schedule, while analytics from Pressbooks and DSpace help inform outreach efforts. Together, these platforms complement and advance the university’s open education goals.

 

 

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Covers of The College of William & Mary: A History, Vol.1 & Vol. 2

William & Mary Libraries’ William & Mary Press republish The College of William & Mary: A History, Vol.1 & Vol. 2

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Cultivating the Commons

The College of William & Mary: A History, Vol.1 & Vol. 2

Published by William & Mary Press

A two-volume history, published for the College of William & Mary’s tercentenary in 1993, chronicles its first three centuries. Volume 1 covers the first two centuries of founding, expansion, and struggle. Volume 2 details the modern era’s rebuilding, expansion, and evolution into a major public institution.

Sharing important institutional history

This two volume set, a core publication on the history of our institution, was out of print and thus inaccessible. Converting it to a digital edition was welcomed by the university and was immediately adopted by courses. We’re pleased to re-share this work with our community and alumni.

Why library publishing? 

The demand for access to this out-of-print history led the Special Collections & Research Center to consider reprinting. Instead of physical copies, W&M Libraries’ W&M Press chose digital editions to highlight the advantages of library publishing. This approach allowed for updates, including color images, and ensured availability in various accessible digital formats. Through library publishing, these books are now available for classroom use and are freely available to everyone, demonstrating how library publishing can revive important, inaccessible works.

 

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CUNY’s Wikimedian in Residence

2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Cultivating the Commons

The CUNY Wikimedian-in-Residence is an initiative through the CUNY Office of Library Services and the CUNY Archives project, funded by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and in partnership with Wikimedia New York City. The efforts of this position combine library publishing objectives of raising awareness of CUNY archival holdings, providing impactful student editing experience, and demonstrating the value of local knowledge.

What’s special about this program?

Having a Wikimedian-in-Residence does the triple magic of empowering CUNY’s diverse student body, highlighting CUNY’s amazing resources, and supporting CUNY’s teachers to connect the two. Where library services can often seem reserved spaces for serious researchers, a Wikimedian-in-Residence is library publishing outreach embodied. We’re able to offer class visits and edit-a-thon support to interested faculty, lowering the barrier of entry for professors, which lowers the barrier for students who may not know that they can contribute directly to Wikipedia. We’re also lucky that our Wikimedian-in-Residence, Richard Knipel, is an incredible advocate for local knowledge and for CUNY!

This new initiative is currently measuring impact with quarterly briefs and a 2025 by the Numbers roundup that captures the number of classes visited, the number of students, the number of edits, and other data points. 

Why library publishing?

Because the Wikimedian-in-Residence is based in the Office of Library Services, the role has an easy link to primary source materials in our 26 campuses’ archives and to our central institutional resources. The Wikimedian-in-Residence outreach serves CUNY’s mission to improve public access to knowledge, Wikipedia’s efforts to expand and engage a diverse editorial pool, and the libraries’ efforts to support students’ research skills. Supporting this work in the library demonstrates our dedication to information access across the full life cycle of research, from archives of primary sources, to research publications, to tertiary encyclopedic knowledge shared for the public good.

Advice for colleagues working with a library publishing program?

Engaging Wikipedia at your library is an excellent way to support student learning and information literacy. On top of that, you enable your students and faculty to contribute important local knowledge to the broader information landscape. Please follow the project here.

 

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outline drawing of large group of people with cursive handwriting that reads: Cultivating the Commons

CULTIVATING THE COMMONS

Library publishing creates impact through access. These examples all showcase libraries’ contributions to our shared knowledge commons.

Virginia Tech’s Rights Reversion Service breathes new life into out-of-print works, returning them to active use through open licenses that allow them to be freely shared with thousands of new readers. At CUNY, the Wikimedian-in-Residence program contributes to the ongoing cultivation and growth of the Internet’s original open encyclopedia, while at William & Mary Libraries’ W&M Press, important institutional and community history is made available to everyone. Library publishing practitioners share their expertise as well. Colleagues from MTSU Walker Library and Towson University Cook Library detail their experience cultivating a new OA journal, while the University of Alberta Library shares the community efforts needed to flip a journal from subscription to Open Access.

 

 

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INNOVATING AND ADAPTING

Library publishing creates impact by allowing programs to be innovative and adapt to changing needs.

These three initiatives, a publication about transforming LaTeX to Accessible and Inclusive Formats published by Open Education Initiative (OEI)  of the Scholarly Communication Department at the University Libraries, VIVA’s Print on Demand Service, and, Virginia Tech Publishing & Press, Virginia’s new digital-first open access publisher, demonstrate ways innovation can impact student and author access. By making clear guides for PDF accessibility, OEI pushes the possibilities of accessible OER. By developing print on demand, VIVA makes the contents of OER more affordable and accessible.

 

 

 

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