The University of Wisconsin Press office moved locations to a new physical and administrative home in July, increasing accessibility to campus resources. 

After 23 years of operating off campus, the UW Press office moved their offices from Monroe Street to the recently renovated offices on the fourth floor of Memorial Library.

This change is coupled with a transition from working under the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education to instead reporting to the Office of the Provost, according to a UW news article. 

The UW Press is an organization that publishes peer-reviewed books and journals. Since its creation in 1937, the Press has published over 3,000 books on many topics, according to its website.

Despite being a part of UW, the UW Press publishes books written by scholars from all over the world. It publishes books about Wisconsin and the upper Midwest, along with books on anthropology, biology and art, among other interests, according to its website.

Many university press offices tend to be under the Office of the Provost at their institutions, so the move allows the UW Press to be more similar to peer institutions. This includes Columbia University and the University of Pittsburgh.

It also provides the UW Press with an opportunity to utilize other resources in the Office of the Provost, such as Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television.

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Kaitlin Svabek, the publicity manager for UW Press, said reporting to the Office of the Provost results in additional funding for the UW Press due to increased support. This made the move a cost-effective decision as well.

Toni Gunnison, journals manager for UW Press, said the organization is excited to explore the opportunities from increased visibility.

“Already, our central location has allowed us to start a monthly publishing meetup where those whose work is related to publishing can share ideas and best practices,” Gunnison said. “We hope to become a resource for questions about publishing, no matter how small.”

Casey LaVela, sales and marketing manager for UW Press, said the UW Press’s new presence on campus allows them to be more accessible, as well as be better integrated with the campus community. The office hopes to take advantage of the more convenient location by collaborating more, as well as sharing information and digital bases with other groups on campus, they said.

Collaborations can include libraries, departments and individuals, Gunnison said.

UW Press is also looking into collaborating with other schools in the UW system to create a more cohesive press organization in order to better serve their communities.

This change can also benefit UW Libraries staff, as it allows them to upgrade their workspaces. These upgrades include better air circulation and more access to light and meeting spaces, which will allow for more collaboration between experts and UW Libraries staff.

Lisa Carter, vice provost for UW Libraries and university librarian, said in an email that the location of the new UW Press offices also benefits UW Libraries programs already housed in Memorial Library.

 ” … now the Press is next door to […]the Office of the Gender and Women’s Studies Librarian,” Carter said. “The Libraries program also creates publications and has editorial staff, so we hope these colleagues find new synergies.”

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This relocation provides the framework for new collaborations with other UW Libraries programs, and because the UW Press publishes work from a vast array of sources and genres, this transition also allows them better access to the publication process.

LaVela said that previously, UW Press staff had to ship books and materials to publishing centers like Memorial Library from their Monroe Street offices. The relocation of the Press results in a much more efficient process in publishing.

“We don’t have to ship our books to [Memorial Library] to publish anymore, we can just walk downstairs and hand them off,” LaVela said. 

This is not the first time the UW Press office has moved, said LaVela. After its founding, the Press lived in Bascom Hall. After staying there for about two years, it moved to an old library school on State Street. UW Press was also housed in a structure near what is now George L. Mosse Humanities Building, houses on Dayton Street and a warehouse used by a beer distributor.

While the UW Press has had many homes in the past, this move is particularly historic because, as LaVela said, the organization leased offices on Monroe Street for almost 20 years before moving back on campus.