A university press is, generally speaking, a publishing company that is housed inside an academic institution. In contrast to the “Big Five” multinational corporations in publishing, university presses are nonprofit and mission centered, although not always small.
University presses have tended to be slow to change, mirroring the incremental pace of change of their host institutions. However, as their traditional revenue streams have dried up, and as digitization has upended the publishing industry, university presses have been under pressure to innovate to keep up with changing times.
Alt-text: Interior of the Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington. The library is lined with bookshelves, has students studying, and features gothic architecture.