About Us

Mission

The Scottish Universities Press aims to provide a clear and cost-effective route for researchers to make their work freely available to a global audience, meeting the requirements of funders and realising the ambition to extend the impact of research across society. 

A picture of a globe sitting on top of a row of books in a library, with bookshelves in the background.

Background

19 academic libraries are collaborating to develop an open access press and publishing platform that is managed by the participating libraries. The project is being coordinated through SCURL (Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries), the membership body that supports collaborative initiatives across Scotland’s academic and research libraries.

The process began with the identification of a shared challenge. In this case it was the need for a clear and cost-effective route to open access publishing that would satisfy funder requirements, REF requirements and align to the principles of Plans S. A key driver was the announcement from UKRI that from 1 January 2024 monographs, book chapters and edited collections must be made open access within 12 months of publication. Beyond meeting this immediate objective there is an appetite to explore alternative approaches to academic publishing, that are of the academy and have the needs of the academy at the core.

In 2019 SCURL commissioned research to test the proof of concept for a collaborative universities press. The resulting Proof of Concept for a Scottish University Press Report was very favourable towards the prospect and discussions began on taking forward the findings. A Management Board was formed from representatives at participating institutions and met for the first time in 2021. After an open call for applications, the SUP Editorial Board was appointed in July 2022 .

SUP launched its first call for monograph proposals in November 2022 and will publish the first monographs in Summer 2024.

Scope  

  • We will publish work by academics from participating institutions.

  • We will cover all subject areas that receive submissions. 

  • We will focus on publishing monographs and edited collections in the pilot phase of the Press (2022-2024), but the wider ambition is to extend this to other types of content, including journals and textbooks. 

  • We will publish fully open access books on the SUP platform using Creative Commons licences. Authors will retain the copyright to their work.

  • All proposals and manuscripts will go through a rigorous peer review process, managed by an Editorial Board of academics from across participating institutions.

  • We will provide the option to buy print copies.  

  • We will provide a full publishing service, including copy-editing, design and typesetting, marketing and global dissemination.

  • The running costs of the press are met by the participating institutions. This subsidised model allows SUP to deliver low production charges (see the Costs section).

  • The press will operate on a not-for-profit basis and any surpluses will be reinvested in the press for the benefit of all partners.  

Who we are

SCURL

The Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL) is a membership body that supports service development and improvement across Scotland’s university and research libraries. Key areas of work are coordination, collaboration and advocacy.

The current membership of SCURL comprises all Scottish university and HEI libraries, the two major public reference libraries in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the National Library of Scotland, National Museums Scotland, the Open University, Queen’s University Belfast, and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

The 19 Libraries developing the Press are:

  • Abertay University

  • University of Dundee

  • University of Edinburgh

  • Edinburgh Napier University

  • University of Glasgow

  • Glasgow Caledonian University

  • The Glasgow School of Art

  • Heriot Watt University

  • The Open University

  • Queen Margaret University

  • Queen’s University Belfast

  • Robert Gordon University

  • Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

  • SRUC

  • University of St Andrews

  • University of Stirling

  • University of Strathclyde

  • University of the Highlands and Islands

  • University of the West of Scotland

Management Board

The strategic direction of the Press is overseen by a Management Board formed of library staff at participating institutions. The Board will formulate medium and long-term policy and strategy for the Press. The operational management of the Press will be coordinated by the SCURL Executive Officer, who will be a member of the Management Board. A Publishing Officer, employed via the University of Dundee, is responsible for operational and editorial administration processes.

The members of the Management Board are:

Chair: Hannah Whaley, Director of Library Services, University of Dundee

Vice Chair: Dominic Tate, Head of Library Research Support, University of Edinburgh

Gillian Daly, Executive Officer, SCURL

Richard Aird, Director of Service Delivery & Change, University of Stirling

Jennifer Louden, Director of Library Services, Robert Gordon University

Neal Buchanan, Head of Scholarly Research Communications, University of Strathclyde

Jeanette Castle, University Librarian, University of the West of Scotland

Caroline Cochrane, Head of Information Services, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Ken Dick, Head of Library Services, Queen Margaret University

Malcolm Jones, Head of Library Services, Edinburgh Napier University     

Jackie Proven, Head of Open Research, University of St Andrews

Valerie McCutcheon, Research Information Manager, University of Glasgow

Noelle McDougall, Research Support Manager, Abertay University        

Sally McIntosh, University of the West of Scotland

Elaine Muir, Library Services Lead, SRUC      

Richard Nurse, Associate Director (Digital Futures), The Open University           

Elizabeth McHugh, Electronic Resources Manager, University of the Highlands & Islands

Isabel O’Kelly, Bibliographic Services Manager, Queen’s University Belfast

Nicola Siminson, Institutional Repository and Records Manager, Glasgow School of Art

Gary Steele, Director of Library Services, Glasgow Caledonian University

Iain Young, Head of Research Support & Resource Services, Heriot-Watt University

Publishing Officer: Dominique Walker, University of Dundee

Editorial Board

The Scottish Universities Press Editorial Board comprises of 14 academics from our participating institutions, including two specific places for Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Two external members and the Chair of the Management Board will also sit on the Editorial Board.

The Editorial Board was formed through an open recruitment process, attracting over 80 expressions of interest from academics at participating institutions. SUP wanted to ensure that the Editorial Board had good coverage of disciplines and types of institution, as well as broad geographical coverage across Scotland.

The role of Editorial Board members will be to advocate for the press and encourage submissions, review proposals, and contribute to the development and ongoing management of the peer review process. The Editorial Board will meet quarterly. Please see below for a list of Editorial Board members.

Editorial Board Members