Seven university presses unite behind publishing charter
A coalition of university presses has launched a new charter aimed at strengthening trust, quality and transparency in scholarly publishing, as publishers respond to growing concerns around research integrity, artificial intelligence and financial sustainability.
The University Press Charter, launched during University Press Week (9-13 November), brings together university presses behind a shared commitment to support high-quality scholarship and highlight the distinctive role university-based publishers play within the research ecosystem.
The initiative was founded by seven presses in a collaboration led by Cambridge University Press and Bristol University Press. Alongside the two organisers, the founding group includes Edinburgh University Press, Liverpool University Press, Manchester University Press, Princeton University Press and University of London Press.
Since its circulation, the charter has attracted support from 108 publishers across 26 countries, with translations currently being prepared in French, Portuguese and Welsh.
The charter commits signatories to putting quality and integrity at the heart of scholarly publishing, increasing transparency around publishing services and costs, developing responsible approaches to artificial intelligence, expanding global participation in the creation and sharing of knowledge, supporting responsible research assessment, and working collaboratively across the scholarly communities they serve.
The move comes as scholarly publishers grapple with rising publication volumes, financial pressures and rapid advances in AI technologies.
Mandy Hill, managing director of Cambridge University Press, said: “Pressures on the academic publishing ecosystem are significant. Real risks are emerging as more papers are created more quickly, with some publishers not prioritising rigorous peer review and as a result content is being trusted less widely. Something has to change.
“It’s not too late to reshape the future of academic publishing. Doing what we have always done will not be enough. It is critical that this change is driven by what academics need – and university presses can play a crucial role in this. It’s our responsibility to do so.”
The charter also seeks to draw attention to the role university presses play within scholarly communications. According to its founders, university-based publishers reinvest any financial surpluses in publishing and the wider academic mission, while supporting specialist, multilingual and long-form scholarship that may have significant scholarly or public value despite limited commercial returns.
Hill said: “Commercial publishers are also key stakeholders in this community. But while all academic publishers have much in common, what sets us apart will inform how we respond to the revolution we are all facing.
“As I was once told: ‘commercial publishers publish in order to make money; university presses make money in order to publish’. University presses are motivated by and measured against the very same mission as the universities we are part of, and this is a point of difference compared to other publishers.”
The charter emerged from discussions between university presses in the UK and North America during summer 2026, which identified shared challenges facing presses of different sizes and models, alongside a common ambition to make a stronger case for their contribution to scholarly publishing.
Hosted by the Association of University Presses, the initiative’s next phase will focus on engagement with funders, universities and policymakers, initially centred on humanities and social sciences publishing, while sharing findings and approaches internationally.