The History of Oxford University Press: Volume IV : 1970 to 2004

The story of Oxford University Press spans five centuries of printing and publishing. Beginning with the first presses set up in Oxford in the fifteenth century and the later establishment of a university printing house, it leads through the publication of bibles, scholarly works, and the Oxford English Dictionary, to a twentieth-century expansion that created the largest university press in the world, playing a part in research, education, and language learning in more than 50 countries. With access to extensive archives, the four-volume __History of OUP__ traces the impact of long-term changes in printing technology and the business of publishing. It also considers the effects of wider trends in education, reading, and scholarship, in international trade and the spreading influence of the English language, and in cultural and social history - both in Oxford and through its presence around the world.In the decades after 1970 Oxford University Press met new challenges but also a period of unprecedented growth. In this concluding volume, Keith Robbins and 21 expert contributors assess OUP's changing structure, its academic mission, and its business operations through years of economic turbulence and continuous technological change. The Press repositioned itself after 1970: it brought its London Business to Oxford, closed its Printing House, and rapidly developed new publishing for English language teaching in regions far beyond its traditional markets. Yet in an increasingly competitive worldwide industry, OUP remained the department of a major British university, sharing its commitment to excellence in scholarship and education. The resulting opportunities and sometimes tensions are traced here through detailed consideration of OUP's business decisions, the vast range of its publications, and the dynamic role of its overseas offices. Concluding in 2004 with new forms of digital publishing, __The History of OUP__ sheds new light on the cultural, educational, and business life of the English-speaking world in the late twentieth century. Features: --Written by thirteen contributors, experts in their fields of history, publishing, and printing --Includes almost 200 illustrations --Contains maps showing the growth and extent of Press activity in Oxford at different points in the period covered by the volume --Draws extensively on material from the Oxford University Archives. The story of Oxford University Press spans five centuries of printing and publishing. Beginning with the first presses set up in Oxford in the fifteenth century and the later establishment of a university printing house, it leads through the publication of bibles, scholarly works, and the Oxford English Dictionary, to a twentieth-century expansion that created the largest university press in the world, playing a part in research, education, and language learning in more than 50 countries. With access to extensive archives, The History of OUP traces the impact of long-term changes in printing technology and the business of publishing. It also considers the effects of wider trends in education, reading, and scholarship, in international trade and the spreading influence of the English language, and in cultural and social history - both in Oxford and through its presence around the world. This FIRST volume begins with the successive attempts to establish printing at Oxford from 1478 onwards. Ian Gadd and sixteen expert contributors chart the activities of individual university printers, the eventual establishment of a university printing house, its relationship with the University, and influential developments in printing under Archbishop Laud, John Fell, and William Blackstone. They explore the range of scholarly and religious works produced, together with the growing influence of the University Press on the city of Oxford, and its place in the book trade in general. By the late eighteenth century, the University Press was both printer and publisher. This SECOND volume charts its rich and complicated history between 1780 and 1896, when transformations in the way books were printed led, in turn, to greater expertise in distributing and selling Oxford books. Simon Eliot and twelve expert contributors look at the relationship of the Press with the wider book trade, and with the University and city of Oxford. They also explore the growing range of books produced - including, above all, the creation and initial publication of the Oxford English Dictionary. Readership: In the THIRD volume, the twentieth century brought new horizons to Oxford University Press as offices were opened in the USA (in 1896), Canada, Australia, India, Pakistan, East Asia, and Africa. Wm Roger Louis and 22 expert contributors explore the growth of OUP's publishing, not only in works of scholarship and religion, but also in dictionaries, reference works, and literature for general readers, and in publishing for education and English language teaching. They trace OUP's relationship with the University and city of Oxford, and its place in London and the international book trade. The volume also considers the technological revolution that led to the decline of the printing business in Oxford, and the new challenges of managing a much larger organization that were identified by the influential Waldock Report of 1970. -- Those interested in publishing history, company histories, book history, cultural and industrial history, and the history of Oxford particularly. It will appeal to academics working and teaching in these subjects, and also to authors, academics, and readers connected with Oxford or OUP. Publishers note The story of Oxford University Press spans five centuries of printing and publishing. Beginning with the first presses set up in Oxford in the fifteenth century and the later establishment of a university printing house, it leads through the publication of bibles, scholarly works, and the Oxford English Dictionary, to a twentieth-century expansion that created the largest university press in the world, playing a part in research, education, and language learning in more than 50 countries. With access to extensive archives, the four-volume History of OUP traces the impact of long-term changes in printing technology and the business of publishing. It also considers the effects of wider trends in education, reading, and scholarship, in international trade and the spreading influence of the English language, and in cultural and social history - both in Oxford and through its presence around the world. In the decades after 1970 Oxford University Press met new challenges but also a period of unprecedented growth. In this concluding volume, Keith Robbins and 21 expert contributors assess OUP's changing structure, its academic mission, and its business operations through years of economic turbulence and continuous technological change. The Press repositioned itself after 1970: it brought its London Business to Oxford, closed its Printing House, and rapidly developed new publishing for English language teaching in regions far beyond its traditional markets. Yet in an increasingly competitive worldwide industry, OUP remained the department of a major British university, sharing its commitment to excellence in scholarship and education. The resulting opportunities and sometimes tensions are traced here through detailed consideration of OUP's business decisions, the vast range of its publications, and the dynamic role of its overseas offices. Concluding in 2004 with new forms of digital publishing, The History of OUP sheds new light on the cultural, educational, and business life of the English-speaking world in the late twentieth century. Cover 1 The History of Oxford University Press 4 Copyright 5 Contents 14 List of Colour Plates 17 List of Figures 18 List of Maps 25 List of Tables and Graphs 26 List of Abbreviations 27 List of Contributors 30 Maps 34 1. Repositioning Oxford University Press, 1970–​2004 39 Part I The Business of a University Press 71 2. The Waldock Report and After, 1970–​1974 73 3. Business Performance 1975–​2004 89 4. The Press and the Wider University 121 5. Changing Focus, 1973–​1989 151 Moving the London Business to Oxford 151 Distribution: Neasden to Corby, 1970–​1985 162 The Closure of the Printing House 172 6. Sales and Marketing 195 7. Technology 215 8. Design 241 9. Working Life in Oxford 255 10. Architecture, Building Designs, and Jericho 291 Part II Publications 303 11. Academic Publishing 305 12. Trade Publishing 369 13. UK Schoolbook Publishing 389 14. Dictionaries and Reference 419 15. Journals 461 16. Music Publishing, Bibles, and Hymnals 485 17. The Poetry Question 505 Part III Publishing Worldwide 515 18. English Language Teaching 517 19. OUP España 547 20. New York 559 21. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand 601 22. East Asia 627 23. India 657 24. Pakistan 673 25. Africa 689 Conclusion 725 appendices 739 I. Chronology, 1970–​2004 739 II. Delegates of the Press, 1970–​2004 745 III. Officers of the University of Oxford, 1970–​2004 749 Archival Overview 751 Index 753 The history of Oxford University Press spans five centuries of printing and publishing. This fourth volume explores the Press's modern history as an unsubsidized business with significant educational and cultural responsibilities, and how it maintained these through economic turbulence, political upheaval, and rapid technological innovation. Volume 1 : Beginnings To 1780 -- Volume 2 : 1780 -- 1896 -- Volume 3 : 1896 -1970 -- Volume 4 : 1970-2004. Edited By Ian Gadd, Simon Eliot, W. Roger Louis. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.