Athabasca University Press

Athabasca University Press, commonly known as AU Press, is the scholarly publishing division of Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada. Established in 2007, it was created within a distance-learning university and developed an identity closely associated with broad public access to research and educational content. The press is generally described as the first open-access publisher in Canada, and open access remains central to its publishing model: digital editions of its publications are made freely available through the press website, while printed editions are produced and sold through conventional book channels. The press publishes peer-reviewed books across a range of humanities, social-science, education, and cultural subjects. Areas represented in its catalogue include North American and Western Canadian history, labour studies, distance and online education, Indigenous studies, archaeology, and related fields. Its list is not restricted to conventional academic monographs. AU Press has also issued fiction, drama, poetry, autobiography, translated works, and other forms of creative and literary writing. This breadth reflects the role of a university press as both a scholarly institution and a cultural publisher. A distinctive feature of AU Press is its combination of editorial review, university-based scholarship, and Creative Commons licensing. The licensing approach allows readers, educators, and researchers to access and reuse digital works under the terms attached to each publication. The model is particularly compatible with Athabasca University's distance-education mission, because freely accessible digital texts can reach readers beyond a campus or physical library system. At the same time, the press continues to support print books, giving authors and readers a physical edition and maintaining a conventional sales and distribution presence. By 2019, AU Press had published more than 120 peer-reviewed books. Several titles had received recognition in areas including history, archaeology, creative nonfiction, and distance education, while others had been acknowledged for book design. These distinctions indicate that the press's role is not limited to making works available online; it also operates as a selective scholarly and literary publisher with editorial and production standards. The press's Canadian print distribution has been supported domestically by the University of British Columbia Press. Beyond its own book catalogue, AU Press publishes an imprint called Remix, which produces open-access educational resources created by Athabasca University faculty. Remix extends the press's activities from traditional scholarly books into openly licensed teaching and learning materials. AU Press participates in the professional publishing community through membership in the Association of University Presses, the Association of Canadian University Presses, and the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. Its institutional position, open-access infrastructure, peer-reviewed catalogue, and connection to a university devoted to flexible and remote learning distinguish it from commercial trade publishers and from university presses whose primary distribution model depends on paid print or subscription access.

Athabasca University Press was established in 2007 as the publishing division of Athabasca University in Alberta. Its creation reflected the university's distance-education environment and its interest in distributing scholarly and educational material beyond conventional campus boundaries. From the outset, the press adopted an open-access orientation and is recognized as the first open-access publisher in Canada. The press's publishing program combines peer-reviewed scholarship with literary and creative works. Its catalogue has included research in North American and Western history, labour studies, distance and online education, Indigenous studies, archaeology, and related areas of the humanities and social sciences. It has also published fiction, drama, poetry, autobiography, and translated works. This combination gives AU Press a broader cultural remit than a publisher focused solely on academic monographs. AU Press uses a dual-format approach. It produces and sells printed books, while also providing free digital access to its publications through its website. The open digital model is reinforced by Creative Commons licensing, allowing readers and educational users to access and reuse works according to the relevant licence terms. The approach supports the dissemination of research while retaining a print publishing and sales operation. By 2019, the press reported or was described as having published more than 120 peer-reviewed books. A number of those books received academic or design recognition, including recognition in history, archaeology, creative nonfiction, and distance education. These achievements helped establish the press as a selective scholarly publisher rather than merely a repository for institutional materials. The press also created the Remix imprint to publish open-access educational resources authored by Athabasca University faculty. Remix broadened AU Press's contribution to open education by addressing teaching and learning materials in addition to research books. This activity is consistent with Athabasca University's emphasis on flexible and online learning. For physical-book distribution in Canada, AU Press's titles are distributed domestically by the University of British Columbia Press. The press also maintains professional affiliations with the Association of University Presses, the Association of Canadian University Presses, and the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. These relationships place AU Press within Canadian and international scholarly-publishing networks while preserving its distinctive open-access identity.

• 2019

  Catalogue exceeds 120 peer-reviewed books

  [1]Athabasca University Pressen.wikipedia.org

  By this point, the press had published more than 120 peer-reviewed books across scholarship, education, and creative writing, with several titles receiving academic or design recognition.

• 2007

  Athabasca University Press is founded

  [1]Athabasca University Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Athabasca University establishes its scholarly publishing division, which develops as an open-access university press.

University-based open-access scholarly and cultural publishing

• Academic publishing · 2007

  Peer-reviewed scholarly books

  AU Press publishes peer-reviewed books primarily in the humanities and social sciences. Its subject areas include North American and Western history, labour studies, distance and online education, Indigenous studies, archaeology, and related fields. The books are available as printed editions and, for the press's open-access publications, as freely accessible digital editions under Creative Commons licensing.

• Literary publishing · 2007

  Literary and creative works

  The press's catalogue extends beyond academic research to include fiction, drama, poetry, autobiography, and translated works. These publications give the university press a cultural and literary role alongside its scholarly program and demonstrate that its open-access model is applied to more than conventional research monographs.

• Open educational resources

  Remix

  Remix is an Athabasca University Press imprint for open-access educational resources created by Athabasca University faculty. It extends the press's publishing activity into teaching and learning materials and supports the university's distance-education mission through openly available resources licensed for reuse under applicable Creative Commons terms.

• 2007

  Adoption of an open-access publishing modelStrategy

  Background

  The press was established within Athabasca University, a distance-learning institution, creating a strong institutional rationale for distributing scholarly and educational content beyond traditional print and subscription channels.

  Action taken

  AU Press made free digital access and Creative Commons licensing central to its publishing approach while continuing to produce and sell printed books.

  Aftermath

  The model positioned AU Press as Canada's first open-access publisher and gave it a distinctive role in Canadian scholarly communication.

  Source

1. 1Athabasca University Pressen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Athabasca University Press official websiteaupress.ca