This is part 5 of the Travels with Terence series, following our digital projects editor on his pilot press in-person training program. At the University of Cincinnati Press, Manifold is in the capable hands of Elizabeth Scarpelli, Press Director. Terence headed to Cincinnati almost immediately on the heels of the team’s Portland face-to-face (recap blog post to follow), so he was well primed to address their hopes and challenges.

When selected for the Manifold Digital Services Pilot, Liz said:

Manifold will help us further our mission to publish new modes of scholarship and enhanced publications by providing a professional, agile, and dynamic presentation site for our authors and readers. We anticipate using Manifold for many of our publications from traditional monographs to digitally innovative projects designed to expand the dialogue between scholars and community based experts and practitioners. We see Manifold as a key tool in our discoverability strategy at the University of Cincinnati Press and Cincinnati Library Publishing Services (CLIPS). The mission based approach and affordability and technical support available through the pilot make Manifold an easy choice in partners for us.

Following Terence’s two and a half days with the University of Cincinnati Press, the team seemed excited to have closed out the year looking forward to the work ahead. With thanks to Sean Crowe, University of Cincinnati Press’s library developer and press digital architect, Terence met with press staff, librarians, publicity staff, and senior administrators. As a new press, founded in 2017, Cincinnati is looking to leverage its size, versatility, and integration within the library to innovate across disciplines in service to its mission to the global community as well as to the faculty and the community on campus. Manifold’s commitment to openness also aligns with the university’s mission. Manifold’s emphasis on reader experience, iterative possibilities for authors, and connective annotation tools support the press’s aim to bring authors and readers closer through dialog.

Upon his return, Terence remarked:

This was such an exciting trip. You can feel how everyone on the team is eager to have the opportunity to innovate with Manifold. In addition to having openly accessible titles on their instance, Cincinnati is going to cultivate and promote iterative projects that really push the system to its limits and take advantage of all the capabilities we’ve worked to provide. I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them and to help them achieve their vision.

The University of Cincinnati Press advocates public scholarship and “endeavors to erase disciplinary boundaries in order to cast fresh light on common problems in our global community.” Read more on their website, or connect with them on Twitter or Facebook.

• Miles Travelled: 596
• Doughnuts Eaten: YES!
• Ice Cream Outings: 1
• Times Markdown came up in conversation: Impossible to count

Thanks for reading! Feel free to reach out on the community Slack channel, tweet us at @manifoldscholar, and follow along on Github for more details and to request features.