Stories of Impact

Michigan Press, Michigan Impact. Where are the State's most serious bookworms? A new map answers the question

Readers across the State of Michigan just love reading University of Michigan Press books! Our interactive map shows where titles on local history, culture, and the environment are consumed, and no corner of the Mitten State remains untouched. Blame the long winters indoors or lazy summer days on the many pristine freshwater beaches, but Michiganders sure love to read - especially university-produced books they know they can trust

Back(list) to the Future: Making Older University Press Monographs Digitally Available

Making older books digitally available presents significant hurdles, primarily due to the high costs involved in converting physical copies to digital formats and the complex legal work required to secure digital rights from authors or their estates. Additionally, there are technical challenges in ensuring digital accessibility for all readers and enriching often-incomplete metadata to make these valuable works discoverable and useful in today's digital world

Which University of Michigan Press authors choose to publish open access books and why?

A glance at the University of Michigan Press fall 2025 catalog reveals that openness promotes interdisciplinarity, policy impact, and social justice

How University of Michigan Press translates "accessibility as a design principle" into continuing practice

Recent updates reflect the press’s commitment to meet the European Accessibility Act (EAA) standards for both the web platform and ebook content

AI and the University Press: A Michigan Case Study

In the webinar "AI and the University Press: A Michigan Case Study" staff discussed how the Press is being impacted by the growing interest in GenAI.

Kenyon Fund Provides All-Access Ticket to the Best Books on Theater and Performing Arts

Thanks to the generous support of the Herbert A. Kenyon and Bessie W. Kenyon Fund, groundbreaking theater books will be made available open access in 2025.

So How Did UMP Books Do in 2024?

In 2024, UMP stabilized the proportion of its frontlist monographs published open access at 75%. Library support increased and use almost doubled.

How Do University of Michigan Press Book Authors and Readers Perceive Open Access?

A new study of reader (and author) experiences of the open access books they discover on UMP EBC reveals the human stories behind the usage figures.

So How Did UMP Books Do in 2023?

In 2023, UMP expanded the proportion of its frontlist monographs published open access from 50% to 75%. Use of the books published swelled and author enthusiasm followed.

So How Did UMP Books Do in 2022?

Thanks to purchases by over 100 libraries, support from our parent institution, and a great group of authors, University of Michigan Press hit its target of publishing 50% of its frontlist monographs open access. The books got used . . . alot!

Why University of Michigan Press is joining "Path to Open"

A new initiative complements immediate open access models for monographs, providing an embargoed option for titles that might otherwise stay permanently paywalled.

University of Michigan Press hits 2022 open access books target with Fund to Mission program

Forty books (50%) of the new scholarly books published by the Press in 2022 have open access editions. For 2023, the Press is expanding its commitment to open.

University of Michigan contributes $1.2 million to support university press infrastructure for the humanities

U-M Press Fund to Mission initiative receives a substantial commitment from the University's academic leadership. "Ensuring a sustainable future for high-quality scholarly publishing cannot just be the responsibility of strained library budgets," says Vice Provost.

Why do readers like open access books?

It may seem obvious. A free ebook, instantly readable and downloadable. What's *not* to like? However, an analysis of over 5,000 responses from readers of Michigan open access books reveals some interesting patterns about who the primary beneficiaries of open-access scholarly ebooks are.

NEH program expands global access to high-quality humanities scholarship by US scholars

The Fellowships Open Book Program is just one of the ways in which the National Endowment for the Humanities is supporting open access for books in the humanities. Authors of books published by University of Michigan Press are among the beneficiaries.

What happens when ebooks are free-to-read? Reflecting on UMP's COVID-19 response

In March 2020, faculty and students suddenly had to start working remotely as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. An experiment in making its entire ebook collection freely available sowed the seeds for University of Michigan Press's efforts to transition the majority of its monograph program to open access.

Breaking down the paywall: Author relationships with open access

UMP authors discuss the impact of Open Access on their scholarship and on the way they view diversity, equity, and inclusion in their fields.