Virginia Tech Publishing leading innovation and access: Summary of works since 2017
Virginia Tech Publishing started in 2017 but its history is rooted in a much deeper tradition. In 1989, the Scholarly Communication Project was established in Newman Library as a place to experiment with technology to produce online scholarship in new and developing formats. In 2013-2014, Virginia Tech played a leading role in advancing the idea of a community dedicated to the field of library publishing, which resulted in the creation of the Library Publishing Coalition. In the years since, the Library has continued to embrace the increasingly diverse products of research and scholarship, especially those that are more than just a paper version published online, including e-journals, interactive books, open educational resources, innovative digital projects, and audio visual materials.
In keeping with Virginia Tech’s land grant mission, Virginia Tech Publishing believes in contributing the works it publishes to the public commons through open access publishing while ensuring long-term access through the Library’s preservation strategy. Its goal is to be the center of scholarly publishing activities and expertise at Virginia Tech and to raise the profile of the university’s scholarship through publishing, consulting, and education & outreach.
"Survive the Drive is a book about the biggest cause of accidental injury, death, and disability in the U.S. and how to reduce everyone’s risk by following simple rules. This could save thousands of lives and tens of thousands of serious injuries."
Tom Dingus, former director, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
EXEMPLARY OPEN TEXTBOOK
Introduction to Biosystems Engineering (2021)
44,599 Downloads of complete book
34,110 Downloads of individual chapters by people living in 93 countries
61 print books sold on Amazon
"Making the text freely available will provide savings to the students and ensure wider usage, including in non-U.S. countries. With a broad user-base, open access, and ongoing development, the text will stay relevant to the profession and be widely used."
Joseph C. Walker, director of publications, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
EXEMPLARY PODCAST
Peoples and Things
Founded 2021, it’s in its second season
36 episodes to date
EXEMPLARY STUDENT BOOK
Welcome to the Beatles
18,218 downloads of the complete book directly from Virginia Tech Publishing and VTechWorks from visitors in 34 countries.
120 printed books sold on Amazon.
“The future of higher education is giving more ownership to our students. This project allowed the students to write, edit, and publish their own book and put it out into the world for readers to learn from and enjoy. It’s the quintessential hands-on, minds-on project and I applaud the students for the excellent volume they completed.”
Robert Stephens, associate professor of history
10 Active Journals
38 Hosted/Archived Journals
EXEMPLARY JOURNALS
Journal of Veterans Studies
Founded in 2016; moved to Virginia Tech in July 2018
17 issues containing 254 articles published since 2016
13 issues published by Virginia Tech Publishing
Studies in Engineering Education (SEE)
Founded in 2020
5 issues containing
35 articles published since 2020
Co-edited by Marie Paretti (Department of Engineering Education)
CONSULTATIONS CONSULTATION HIGHLIGHTS
Special support for grant and foundation funding recipients, on projects including:
Henry Luce Foundation Religion and Theology Grant: Future Humans, Human Futures (2021-24), in partnership with the Center for Humanities
ACLS (American Council of Learned Societies) Grant: Building an Institute for Empathic Immersive Narrative (2022-23)
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES (NEH) FUNDED PROJECTS:
Viral Networks (2017-18) resulting in 2019 book
American Soldier in WWII (2018) resulting in 2022 website
Experiencing Civil War History Through Augmented Reality (2021-), which will result in an augmented reality (AR) application for Pamplin Historical Park
Crossing Divides: Connecting Veterans, Teachers, and Students through Oral History (2022-23)