Project MUSE, a digital platform for scholarly content, has unveiled a new initiative aimed at significantly expanding the availability of Spanish and Portuguese language book content from distinguished university presses in Latin America. Through partnerships with numerous reputable university presses, MUSE seeks to address the limited digital accessibility of their current output and help publishers extend their global reach by leveraging MUSE's library acquisition options.
With nearly 1,000 Spanish-language titles already hosted on the platform, and accessed by institutions in 44 countries, MUSE has witnessed a doubling in sales of Spanish-language books since 2020. This surge in demand highlights an untapped global interest in this content. Recognizing the logistical and systemic barriers that impede wider distribution, MUSE is determined to assist Latin American university press publishers in overcoming these challenges. Elevating the visibility of this significant scholarship aligns with MUSE's commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity.
To engage a diverse group of university press publishers from the region, MUSE partnered with EULAC, the Association of University Presses of Latin America, and the Caribbean. Representing over 350 university presses, EULAC facilitated outreach and conversations with many member presses, helping spread awareness of this transformative initiative.
To support as many publishers as possible, MUSE has established agreements with two major distribution partners in Latin America: Hipertexto-Netizen and Siglo. These partnerships streamline the ingestion of book content and ensure robust metadata for maximum discoverability. Both distributors serve a significant number of publishers for the digital file and metadata distribution. By collaborating with these vendors, publishers gain flexibility in choosing their preferred channel for supplying titles to MUSE. Currently, MUSE has secured agreements with over 75 publishers, who will soon contribute their titles to the platform.
Sayri Karp, President of EULAC, emphasizes the opportunity for university press publishers to join other esteemed publishers on Project MUSE through the bridge provided by Hipertexto-Netizen and Siglo. This collaboration promises to bring prestige, visibility, and sales to their books.
Kelley Squazzo, Director of Library & Publisher Partnerships at Project MUSE, acknowledges the challenges faced by libraries in finding recently published Spanish language books. Squazzo expresses MUSE's enthusiasm for fulfilling this market need while supporting and promoting the essential work published by Latin American university presses.
These books will be available to libraries worldwide through MUSE's DRM-free purchase models. The collaboration with SALALM, the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials, has also been instrumental in shaping this endeavor.
In the coming months, MUSE aims to expand its content to encompass over a hundred publishers across the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world, providing access to thousands of new titles that were previously difficult to obtain through existing distribution channels.
Further updates will be shared as additional publishers join the initiative, and books from this collaboration become accessible on the MUSE platform, widening the scope of scholarly resources available to researchers and readers alike.
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