Amid a quickly evolving publishing and digital scholarship landscape, Temple’s libraries and university press are emerging as leaders in staying on the cutting edge.

Temple is one among a small percentage of colleges and universities across the country that has begun the process of integrating its library and press in a move to strengthen both entities and increase opportunities for digital publishing, among other things. Dean of Libraries Joe Lucia said Temple is one among about 25 schools across the United States that already started its integration, putting the university ahead of the curve on what he predicts will become a growing trend among colleges and universities.

Recognizing Temple’s ability to lead and provide guidance in the area, Lucia and his staff, supported by a $40,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation, organized the P2L Summit—the first meeting of its kind that brought together leaders from universities with integrated presses and libraries—to further explore the future of linked libraries and presses. The summit, which took place in Philadelphia last May and included press and library leaders from 23 schools across the United States and in Canada, as well as a speaker from Germany’s University of Geottingen, produced a recently released white paper with recommendations for the future of university libraries and presses, and their integration.  

“You are going to see press and library collaboration on new approaches to extend the work of publishing beyond the book,” Lucia said.

For students and faculty, Lucia said, the relationship between Temple University Libraries and Temple University Press means additional opportunities for publishing. One of the projects to come out of the integration so far is an undergraduate research journal, which he described as a new academic outlet for undergraduates that is run and edited by students. The journal’s first issue publishes this spring.

Lucia and Mary Rose Muccie, the director of Temple University Press and scholarly communications officer for Temple Libraries, said digital scholarship in general is an area that will continue to strengthen and grow as a result of the library and press integration, which translates to increased support for students and faculty who wish to publish.

“We want [students and faculty] to know that there are resources and they can come talk to us,”  Muccie said. She offered an example: “If they’re interested in starting a journal, an open access journal, and don’t know how to begin, they should know there’s support within Temple and resources to help them, including an online platform.”

Preliminary recommendations listed in the report issued based on the P2L Summit include integrating press and library staff, partnering to develop publishing expertise as an educational asset, leveraging library and press strengths to create open educational resources and developing a shared approach to digital scholarship.

Muccie said Temple is already working on implementing the recommendations, and she, Lucia, and other library and press leaders hope they will serve as a blueprint for universities looking to do the same in the future.

“We come at things from different directions sometimes, but we really want the same thing,” Muccie said of university presses and libraries. “We want broad dissemination of the highest quality scholarly content.”

To learn more about the P2L Summit and read the full white paper, click here.