Attractive publication platform for Mainz academics
21.07.2014
In collaboration with V&R unipress GmbH, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has founded "Mainz University Press." It will form part of V&R Academic, the academic publishing program of Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht and V&R unipress in Göttingen. "Mainz University Press represents an attractive publication platform for academics in Mainz," explained the Vice President for Learning and Teaching at JGU and Chairperson of the Scientific Advisory Council of Mainz University Press, Professor Mechthild Dreyer. "The focus will be on highly qualified specialist research publications mainly from the humanities, cultural, and historical studies in the formats that are characteristic for these fields. The fact that high-quality publications will be appearing under the Mainz University Press imprint will contribute to making the excellent academic potential within these particular disciplines even more visible."
V&R unipress specializes in the publication of high-quality academic literature in all forms – as printed books, e-books, and in databases – to be distributed through the usual channels and as open access publications. Its old-established parent house, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, founded the subsidiary V&R unipress in 2003. Its purpose is to act as a specialist publisher of academic works. V&R unipress produces 150 to 200 publications each year as individual publications or within its nearly 100 different monograph series. The publisher is already successfully collaborating in Germany and Austria with the University of Bonn, Osnabrück University, and the University of Vienna.
"V&R unipress is the ideal partner for an internal university press," said Dr. Andreas Brandtner, Director of Mainz University Library and member of the Mainz University Press Scientific Advisory Council. "Through this arrangement, we have access to the professionalism of an established publishing house but can also publish under the university's name." Mainz University Press offers extensive publishing services, such as the complete formatting of texts. "We can provide academics at JGU with a fair offer, personally-tailored services, on-site consultancy, short production times, well-made products, and the professional marketing expertise of an established publishing house," emphasized Susanne Franzkeit, CEO of V&R unipress GmbH.
Mainz University Press will produce monographs, anthologies, and text books as individual editions or as part of its various publication series. It will also offer academics the opportunity of seeing their works published in open access form as free e-books with print-on-demand options.
The Scientific Advisory Council composed of members of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz will decide on accepting monograph series and individual titles for publication as part of the program of Mainz University Press. The Scientific Advisory Council is chaired by the Vice President for Learning and Teaching, Professor Mechthild Dreyer, and also includes Dr. Andreas Brandtner, Director of the University Library, Professor Stephan Füssel of Faculty 05: Philosophy and Philology, Professor Silvia Hansen-Schirra of Faculty 06: Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies, Professor Thomas Hieke of Faculty 01: Catholic Theology and Protestant Theology, Professor Jörg Rogge of Faculty 07: History and Cultural Studies, and Professor Ruth Zimmerling of Faculty 02: Social Sciences, Media, and Sports.