Similarly, many of the books that come out of university and small presses are likely to be of interest to a relatively tiny community of people. That does not make them unimportant or uninteresting. Quite the contrary in many cases.

My own interest in the output of university presses grew largely out of an assignment from a Black Issues Book Review editor to do an in-depth article on the state of the few remaining publishers at historically Black universities. From that time on, I tracked upcoming titles and books from all the university presses that came into the office, many of them Southern presses that frequently published books on African American topics. I often reviewed these books or wrote about their authors when no one else did. When I became executive editor of BIBR myself in 2003, I soon introduced a regular feature on these books to make sure they were represented in most issues.

Now, I am pleased that DIVERSE is launching Diversebooks.net as a premier source to buy these books online and as a vehicle for them to get the coverage and attention they deserve. Among the reasons I think this is important is the obvious quality and range of books that the university and small presses offer. Where else can you find well-written, thoroughly edited and authoritatively sourced books on just about anything you might want? In recent years, I have had a chance to review books on Creole languages, female professors, the achievement gap, the Don Imus firing, class differences on elite campuses, Gullah cuisine and even a biography of a legendary West Virginia educator who was once my mother’s neighbor.

About 3,000 titles are in the Diversebooks.net inventory, and its creators plan to double that. I look forward to years of reading more books on an endless array of topics. Hope you do too. We also welcome your comments about the site, the books and your finds among the offerings.