Since its origins in 1890 as one of the three main divisions of the University of Chicago, the Press has embraced as its mission the obligation to disseminate scholarship of the highest standard and to publish serious works that foster public understanding, provide an authoritative foundation for informed dialogue, and enrich the diversity of cultural life. Our publications actively engage with timely issues and debates and are written by authors who are the foremost experts in their fields. Through our books and journals, we seek not only to advance scholarly conversation within and across traditional disciplines but, in keeping with the University of Chicago's experimental tradition, to help define new areas of knowledge and intellectual endeavor.

In addition to publishing the results of research for communities of scholars, the Press presents innovative scholarship in ways that inform and engage general readers. We develop reference works that draw upon and support the emphases of our scholarly programs and that extend the intellectual reach of the Press, and we publish significant non-scholarly work by writers, artists, and intellectuals from within and beyond the academy; translations of important foreign-language texts, both historical and contemporary; and books that contribute to the public's understanding of Chicago and its region. In all of this, the Press is guided by the judgment of individual editors who work to build a broad but coherent publishing program engaged with authors and readers around the world.

The Press also recognizes the obligation to match the form of our publications to our readers' needs by pursuing innovations in print and electronic technologies. In our books and journals programs as well as in our distribution business, the Press pioneers new ways of extending the availability and accessibility of knowledge, and the intellectual exchange that thrives on them.

In all its endeavors, the Press values diversity and inclusion. We believe that to fulfill our mission to publish and disseminate meaningful scholarship of the highest standard, we must ensure an inclusive workplace culture where diverse perspectives, experiences, individuals, and ideas are encouraged and thrive.

But this is not enough. As a university press, our mission is to publish ideas that make a positive difference in the world and this includes giving voice to those who have been silenced. Throughout our history, we have had an important role in supporting authors whose work sheds light on all forms of social injustice. We are committed to finding new ways to amplify work by historically underrepresented scholars and encourage research that offers critical insight into the injustices in our society.

---

Books Division

The Books Division of the University of Chicago Press has been publishing books for scholars, students, and general readers since 1892. The Books Division has published more than eleven thousand books since the Press was founded. It has more than five thousand books in print at the present time, including such well-known works as The Chicago Manual of Style; The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by Thomas Kuhn; A River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean; and The Road to Serfdom, by F. A. Hayek.

---

Journals Division

The University of Chicago Press publishes nearly 100 scholarly journals that cover a wide range of disciplines, from the humanities and the social sciences to the life and physical sciences. Many of our journals were the first scholarly publications in their respective fields. The American Journal of Sociology, founded in 1895, is the oldest academic journal devoted to sociology, while History of Religions was the first academic journal devoted exclusively to comparative religious history. In addition to working with departments and faculty of the University of Chicago, the University of Chicago Press publishes influential scholarly journals on behalf of learned and professional societies and associations, foundations, museums, and other not-for-profit organizations. All are peer-reviewed publications, with readerships that include scholars, scientists, and practitioners, as well as other interested, educated individuals.

---

Chicago Distribution Services

Chicago Distribution Services (CDS) provides scholarly and professional publishers with quality services that enable global dissemination of their publications. These services include distribution, warehousing, credit and collection, marketing, sales representation, digital short-run printing, and digital repository services. CDS comprises the Chicago Distribution Center (CDC), the Chicago Digital Distribution Center (CDDC), and Chicago Subscription Fulfillment Services (CSFS). The CDC began providing distribution services in 1991 when the University of Tennessee Press became its first client. Since then, the CDC has grown to serve more than 120 scholarly publishers. The CDC coordinates with the Press’s Books Division to provide sales representation and/or marketing services to more than half of its client presses. The CDDC was created in 2001 and provides book publishers with digital printing services on-site at the CDC, as well as digital repository services through the BiblioVault. Currently, CSFS provides a full range of customer service, warehousing and distribution, e-commerce, and renewal programs for other not-for-profit publishers.

---

If you would like to learn more about the University of Chicago Press, you can find a longer history at this link.