Getting to Know the New UVM Press

By Rosali Hernandez

After years as a member of the consortial University Press of New England, which closed in 2018, the University of Vermont (UVM) Press relaunched itself in 2023. In its new form, UVM Press is a fully digital, diamond open access academic publisher that serves the community, shares essential information, improves understanding, and encourages diversity of thought.

In the words of editorial director for journals, Aimee Diehl, the mission of UVM Press builds on academic libraries’ mission. “Our Dean of Libraries, Bryn Geffert, defines this as ‘making information freely and readily available to everyone who needs it,’” says Diehl. “UVM Press builds on that mission by removing barriers to sharing scholarly knowledge and information—particularly information that contributes to healthy environments and healthy communities.” The Press’s diamond open access publishing model, Diehl adds, ensures that “our authors, readers, and collaborators can access our published work for free online no matter who they are, where they are, or what resources they may have.”

A large factor in what makes UVM Press unique and effective is the diamond open access model, which Diehl says “is a relatively simple concept that can be surprisingly tricky to comprehend, whether you’re in academia or part of the larger community.” This model is simply the ability of authors and readers to contribute to and access the material published by UVM Press with no publication fees, subscription costs, or membership requirements. By using and encouraging this model, UVM Press is able to promote the mission of making information significantly more accessible for those who need it. Additionally, UVM Press prioritizes publishing journals and books that improve the health of humans, society, and the planet, such as the Journal of Ecological Engineering Design. 

Being a relatively new establishment, UVM Press is still building a readership and preparing itself for future success. Over the next five years, Diehl hopes “to collaborate with several more journal publishing partners—maybe adding one per year, maintaining our current rate of growth and expanding our staffing accordingly—and eventually to publish a journal that explores planetary health-related topics.” Thomas W. Krause, editorial director for books, adds that he is working to “secure greater funding opportunities through grants and awards,” because “doing so will put UVM Press on firmer financial footing and allow us to better advance our mission.” In addition to proving the viability and sustainability of the diamond open access model, Krause hopes to see a “thriving series in planetary health and a full catalog of titles in our Janus Debates series.”

By promoting the use of a diamond open access model, expanding the reach of its publications, and continuing to publish important scholarship, UVM Press supports the success of the University of Vermont and sustains its mission to improve the lives and well-being of its faculty, staff, students, and the communities it serves. 

Rosali Hernandez is an undergraduate publishing intern for the UVM Press.