uarctic consortium press

the centre for northern studies press is a member of the uarctic consortium press. hosted by the canadian circumpolar institute (cci)/cci press at the university of alberta, it comprises a network of existing publishers of circumpolar materials (includes all formats; e.g., journals, monographs, audio, video, cdrom, etc.), traditional print as well as on-line publications, that agree to co-publish and/or distribute certain agreed titles under the uarctic press dual imprint (link to current members of the consortium). all rights, access, and distribution remain under the control of individual press operations. consortium members pay an annual membership fee. the main product of this consortium is a 'books in print' catalogue (produced from the membership fee, and additional advertising revenue).

the university of the arctic is a cooperative network of universities colleges, and other organizations committed to higher education and research in the north. members share resources, facilities, and expertise, to build programs that are relevant and accessible. since all uarctic programs need published resources to support its interdisciplinary programs the international office proposed the creation of a uarctic press. the immediate focus was on designing an operation plan that would reflect the unique characteristics of the uarctic network, and that would take full advantage of innovative opportunities and new and developing technologies to fulfill its mandate. it was decided early on that it would not be viable to pursue the idea of establishing a traditional academic press, as such an international endeavour would require a solid support base. instead, the program should be responsive to the needs of the uarctic community with the least amount of pressure on resources, both human and financial. a collaborative approach was adopted, using the uarctic networking structure in a consortium press design, and encouraging the use of open access (online) systems for dissemination and delivery of uarctic-produced.