When I was first commissioned to write the Treasures from UCL book in the summer of 2012, to promote the UCL Special Collections, I was absolutely delighted to take on the job and really excited at the prospect. Not only did it mean a great opportunity to publicise the Library’s wonderful collections, but it also meant I was able to revisit the numerous fabulous treasures that UCL holds, always a joy.
I was going to get to see my favourite items again at close hand! The Persian manuscript, the Beethoven letter, the John Gould books (the list goes on)! I knew though that it was going to be a long road ahead, and I would need to be quite ruthless in my choice of items. That was the hardest part. Deciding what to leave out was not going to be easy. But I’ve always liked a challenge, so I immediately set to work making a list of those items which should definitely go in. A pattern soon began to emerge and a rough chronological weaving in and out of the wide range of materials at my disposal seemed the best way to go, like embroidery or a jigsaw, it seemed to me.
The next challenge was focussed on getting all the significant detail right in the descriptive text while at the same time bringing out the most interesting angle for each item included. There were times when I thought I’d never get to the end of all 70 items. Alongside this came the job of gathering all the images together to do justice to the illuminations, the bookbindings, and all the fine detail of printed as well as manuscript text, not to mention the exquisite colours and intricacies of the more delicate books. All in all I must have dealt with over 200 images, most of which had to be re-photographed from the originals, since many of the existing images were some years old and just wouldn’t do. For light relief I was also setting aside time to complete the text for the history of the collections which appears at the beginning of the book, and liaising with the brilliant contributing authors.
The process of putting the actual volume together was an enjoyable experience in itself, from sending in the first drafts to checking the index. In between there were many back-and-forths with the UCL Press staff and their appointed editor and designer, checking details, correcting typos, and working with the UCL Press designer to choose the most appropriate design and look for the finished product. I should mention that I wouldn't have been able to achieve half of what I did without the brilliant support of all my colleagues in Library Services, and of course UCL Press. It is wonderful to see the book published as one of the first books for the UCL Press launch, not only in Open Access and print form but also in an enhanced digital version available freely online, where readers can not only enjoy the book but also see videos of academics talking about some of the key items and view the images in all their glory in deep zoom.
Gillian Furlong, Head of Special Collections and Archivist, UCL Library Services
UCL is pleased to announce the launch of UCL Press, the University’s in house publishing arm, on 4 June 2015. UCL Press will be the first fully Open Access university press in the UK with all books, journals and monographs freely available online, creating a diverse and accessible global knowledge resource.
UCL Press aims to combine responsiveness, innovation and quality publishing to become the Open Access publisher of choice for authors, editors and readers. Using a range of Open Access platforms, UCL Press will publish cutting-edge research across all topics with books submitted by both UCL and non-UCL authors.
The Press will mainly focus on scholarly monographs, textbooks and journals and its three inaugural titles include: Temptation in the Archives by Lisa Jardine, Treasures from UCL by Gillian Furlong and The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology: Characters and Collections by Alice Stevenson.
The founding ethos of UCL Press builds upon UCL’s wider commitment to communicating and engaging with the world. Open Access ensures academic research is accessible to everyone, as all publications are freely available online with no payment restrictions.
Paul Ayris, Director of Library Services and Chief Executive of UCL Press says:
“Universities have a real chance to take a more proactive approach to publishing and research dissemination. UCL has been at the forefront of promoting Open Access, and the launch of UCL Press is the next step in our commitment to making academic work as accessible as possible.”
Lara Speicher, Publishing Manager of UCL Press says:
“We have already had an overwhelming response to our first call for proposals which shows the increasing demand from researchers for Open Access publishing. We look forward to developing the Press further in the coming years and creating a publishing programme as innovative and unique as UCL itself.”
All titles published by UCL Press will be made available in Open Access digital form, as well as in print and e-book formats available commercially.
For some time, it has been planned that UCL should have its own university press, as a vehicle for making high-quality scholarly research widely available, and the wish was not to replicate an existing university press model. With a strong commitment to Open Access in place at UCL already, an Open Access press seemed the logical next step and UCL Press was born.
The UCL Press imprint had existed before, as part of UCL first and then as an imprint ultimately licensed to Taylor and Francis. The Director of Library Services negotiated the repatriation of the rights in the imprint, a Board was established and the UCL Press Publishing Manager joined in November 2013 to set up the UCL publishing operation from scratch.
From the very first call for proposals in February 2014, it has surprised everyone involved in the Press just how much interest and support there has been from potential authors, and just how many opportunities there are for publishing at UCL.
Interestingly, our first list represents a little-known aspect of UCL – its museums and collections. UCL Library Services’ Special Collections feature rare illuminated medieval manuscripts, incunabula and literary archives such as that of George Orwell among its holdings. This is the first time those collections have been celebrated in an illustrated book, along with an enhanced digital edition. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology celebrates its centenary this June – a happy coincidence – and UCL Press is delighted to publish a book specifically devoted to the Petrie, which we hope will bring the collections to a wider audience.
We are also delighted to include among our first publications a book by award-winning author Professor Lisa Jardine CBE, Professor of Renaissance Studies at UCL and Director of the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters. Temptation in the Archives is a collection of her previously unpublished essays and lectures on Golden Age Dutch history. This is a fitting tribute to Professor Jardine, who has recently been made a Fellow of the Royal Society.
UCL Press is proud to lead the way in Open Access publishing, reasserting the university’s role in the research workflow by taking on the dissemination of research, by both UCL and non-UCL academics. The Press will focus on publishing scholarly monographs, edited collections, textbooks and journals and will make them freely available in PDF form, as well as selling print copies.
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