About
Mission Statement
The University of Michigan Press is a vital component of UM Library's Michigan Publishing, which is the primary academic publishing division of the University. In partnership with our authors and series editors, we publish in a wide range of humanities and social science disciplines. We champion the Library's research and scholarly communication missions through our global digital and print publishing and distribution programs.
Together with our authors, we also play a critical role in the teaching and learning mission of the University by applying new pedagogies to the development of instructional materials that promote college success for students. To address the educational and information needs of our regional readers, the Press also produces publications on Michigan and the Great Lakes region.
The Press, with our rich history of publishing expertise, continues to lead in the development of digital scholarship and to support the dissemination of knowledge as widely and freely as possible.
Equity, Justice, and Inclusion
The University of Michigan Press strongly supports the struggle for racial justice. We publish and distribute books in the humanities and social sciences that seek to make sense of society and culture. We must and will question through whose lens those concepts are constructed. In addition, we recognize the important role that we play in helping to determine which voices are able to participate in the social and academic discourse, making it all the more important that we evaluate our practices critically and progressively. We seek to increase the participation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in our publishing as authors, domain experts, and selectors. We commit to developing an anti-racist workplace climate, improving our shared awareness of the language and systems that serve to perpetuate racism so we can change them. We will also continue to develop strategies that improve equitable access to our publications, recognizing that current systems exclude many readers who need the important works that we publish but cannot access them.
Governance
The quality of the publishing program of the Press is assured through a rigorous peer review process overseen by its faculty Executive Committee. The purpose of the Executive Committee is to approve (or decline to approve) projects for publication, proposed series, and proposed distributed clients under the University of Michigan Press imprint, advise the Press director on strategic directions, and serve as a productive interface between the Press, the University of Michigan, and the academic community more broadly. It is composed of nine voting members of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) faculty. The Executive Committee guidelines describe its operations more fully.
Commitment to Digital Scholarship
Recognizing that digital tools are transforming the way in which scholars work, the University of Michigan Press is engaged in a number of initiatives designed to support the rich publication and preservation of new scholarship and electronic access to past publications.
digitalculturebooks is an imprint of the University of Michigan Press dedicated to publishing innovative work in new media studies and digital humanities. Since 2006 it has been an experimental space for the publication of open access titles sustained by the sale of ancillary print editions.
With the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Press is engaged in the development of a platform designed to present monographic source materials and born digital publications using the Samvera (formerly Hydra)/Fedora infrastructure framework. In this project, University of Michigan Press is collaborating with four fellow university presses, closely linked with their parent university libraries. In January 2019 the University of Michigan Press Ebook Collection (UMP EBC) was launched on the Fulcrum platform to make the Press's scholarly ebooks directly accessible to libraries. More information is available at our For Librarians page.
HathiTrust is a digital repository and research management tool for the United States' great research libraries, focused on providing scholars in the digital age with the largest collection of electronic research material this side of Google Book Search. The University of Michigan Press Collection at HathiTrust includes hundreds of backlist titles and continues to grow through the work of the backlist rights and permissions project.
Accessibility Statement
Last updated: August 2021
The University of Michigan Press is committed to making its publications and electronic media accessible to the broadest possible audience. This commitment is firmly in line with our mission statement and University of Michigan accessibility guidelines. Our vision is to make the University of Michigan Press an accessible publishing organization: producing accessible publications, implementing accessible systems, and effecting change among our peers and partners by maintaining a high standard of accessibility. Our current initiatives to support accessibility include:
Services for users with print disabilities
While we are committed to creating accessible publications, we recognize that some of our publications are in formats that are not currently accessible to all of our readers. Readers needing an alternate format of a U-M Press publication can acquire or request one via our Electronic File Requests page.
Accessible EPUBs
Books with digital versions in EPUB format that have accessibility features are indicated as such on our website product pages with the text "Accessibility features" in the product’s description. See this product for an example of a title with accessibility features.
Accessibility features for EPUBs have been focused primarily on meeting accessibility standards and creating textual descriptions of images for books in our Corporealities: Discourses of Disability Series and related titles since 2016. Beginning with our Fall 2019 titles, all books published have basic textual descriptions of images (alt text) either supplied by authors or written by publishing vendors. In January 2021 our EPUB workflow was certified accessible through the Benetech Global Certified Accessible program. This means nearly all of our EPUBs published after January 2021 meet EPUB accessibility and WCAG AA guidlelines and include an accessibility certification.
Endorsement of Accessible Publishing Initiatives
The University of Michigan Press endorses the Society for Disability Studies Accessible Publishing guidelines and is actively working to meet them.
In August 2021, the U-M Press signed and endorsed the Accessible Book Consortium's Charter for Accessible Publishing, adhering to eight criteria to help ensure accessible ebooks for all.
Ebook support
Available ebook reading systems vary widely in their support for accessibility features. Visit EPUB Test for accessibility support information for specific platforms, or contact us if you have a question about the best reading system for your needs.
Feedback on accessibility
If you require assistance or wish to report an issue related to accessibility of any content we produce (our website, ebooks, or other), please send an email to umpress.accessibility@umich.edu. If applicable, please include the URL or book title and the specific problems you have encountered.
Ongoing testing and remediation
We work to ensure our website conforms to the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA. Known issues and current agenda items include:
- Minor usability issues on our home, search, and book product pages.
- Older PDF files on the site may reflect previous processes and may not be accessible. When possible we’ll make accessible versions of older PDFs upon request.
Accessibility Task Force
The Task Force meets regularly to set the accessibility vision for Michigan Publishing, advise on practices to create born-accessible publications, implement accessible technologies and systems, and effect change among our partners and peer presses by maintaining a high standard of accessibility. It currently is working on:
- Accessibility guidelines and specifications for authors producing video and audio content to be associated with their books.
- Training for acquisition and production staff on the creation of accessible books, video, and audio
- Receiving third-party accessibility certification for U-M Press production workflow through Benetech.
- Working with vendors to implement and support accessibility features in EPUBs
- Learning how we can support and display accessibility metadata on book product pages to help readers identify accessibility features built into our e-book titles.
- Improving the accessibility of our PDF format ebooks.
Privacy Policy
The University of Michigan Library privacy policy can be found here: User Privacy Policy of the University Library.
Purchases
If you submit an order using the Shopping Cart, it will be processed via Chicago Distribution Center's shopping cart system. See the Chicago Distribution Center Privacy Policy Statement for further information on their practices.
Promotions
If you send us email, we may contact you via email with information regarding your order or other inquiry. Your email address will not be used for promotional purposes or shared with other organizations unless you have expressly opted in to receiving promotional emails.
Please note that our site contains links to other sites. We are not responsible for their privacy policies and practices.
Careers
Current Opportunities
To see open positions, visit http://umjobs.org/.
About Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, and the surrounding countryside, is considered by many an ideal residential community, brimming with restaurants and many cultural attractions, while still on a comfortable scale in both size and cost.
How to Apply
To submit your resume for any position with the University of Michigan, please visit: http://umjobs.org/.
Support the University of Michigan Press
The University of Michigan Press is part of the University of Michigan Library. To make a one-time donation or set up a recurring gift to the University of Michigan Press Strategic Fund, visit Michigan Online Giving.
