IU Libraries Publishing
2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Publications and Programs / Cost Savings
IU Libraries Publishing is a digital-first, diamond open-access publisher of nonfiction books written by IU Bloomington faculty, alumni, and/or centers and institutes. Since its founding in 2023, it has published three books: Through the Looking Glass by Curt Lively, Afterthought by Heather Akou, and Making Indiana University by James Capshew.
IU Libraries Publishing assesses impact through demand for the program, author feedback, and publication usage metrics, including reader/reading counts and geographic reach. Since their first publication in 2024, their three books have been viewed nearly 6,000 times by almost 3,000 readers in nearly 30 countries.
IU Libraries Publishing is a diamond open-access publisher of long-form nonfiction written by IU Bloomington faculty, alumni, and centers. Since its founding in 2023, it has published three books:
- Through the Looking Glass by Curt Lively
- Afterthought by Heather Akou
- Making Indiana University by James Capshew
IU Libraries Publishing assesses impact through program demand, author feedback, and audience metrics. Since its first publication in 2024, the program’s three books have generated over 6,000 views from nearly 3,000 users in over 40 countries.
IU Libraries Publishing is access-first, digital-first, and local-first, and it broadens the scholarly genres that get published. It uses fit-for-purpose production, so its books are free to publish and free to read, avoiding premium production whose costs can narrow access. Without return-on-investment requirements, it can publish conference proceedings, public scholarship, local studies, and experimental projects—scholarly genres often deprioritized in sales-dependent publishing models. As a digital-first publisher, IU Libraries Publishing prioritizes accessibility, incorporates multimedia and interactivity, and shares content and code, which print publishing cannot support directly. It also publishes only its academic community, aligning institutional resources with local scholarly needs.