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The Association of American University Presses (AAUP) has announced that its annual meeting is scheduled for June 26-29, 2008 in Montreal. Changes brought about by an emerging digital publishing culture will form a key topic at the panels. The meet will be attended by more than 500 representatives from across the world.

Open access (OA) is one of the hottest topics in scholarly communications. Stevan Harnad, Canada Chair in Cognitive Science at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal; and Stanley Katz, Director of the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, will speak on the implications of OA for scholarly publishing. Another plenary discussion intersects with many OA concerns, focusing on "Reaching out to University Press Partners."

Another topic to be discussed is how university presses can establish effective partnerships with libraries, learned societies and other organisations invested in scholarly communication. Moderator and panelists Philip Cercone, Executive Director and Senior Editor, McGill-Queen's University Press; Andrew Abbott, Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift, Professor of Sociology, University of Chicago; and Chad Gaffield, President of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, will discuss the role of scholarly publishers in the university research system. The three-day conference is packed with more than 40 scheduled sessions and roundtables.

Panels will cover a wide array of topics including the benefits of XML, the challenges of environmentally responsible publishing and the future of peer review. In addition, the annual series of book design panels and lectures will accompany the premiere exhibit of the 2008 AAUP Book, Jacket, and Journal Show, featuring design excellence from university presses. The opening banquet will feature the presentation of the Constituency Award in honour of service to the university publishing community, followed by an address from Montreal-based author and journalist Mark Abley. The gathering at Le Centre Sheraton will also assess the ongoing implementation of the recently drafted strategic plan. At luncheon talks, outgoing AAUP president Sanford Thatcher (Director, Penn State University Press) and President-Elect Alex Holzman (Temple University Press) will discuss the current status of the scholarly publishing community and the changes it will face in the coming year.