About Scarecrow Press

Scarecrow Press was purchased in 1995 by University Press of America and moved from its Metuchen, New Jersey, headquarters to Lanham, Maryland, where it is now a member of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group.

We are known for our scholarly bibliographies, historical dictionaries (of countries, religions, organizations, wars, movements, cities, and, now, ancient civilizations), library science monographs, and reference works in the humanities, particularly music and film. We are broadening our list to include textbooks in library and information science, several new series that address the technological frontiers of this profession, handbooks and reference tools for librarians serving children and youth, and a greater scope of materials in music.

Association Publishing

Scarecrow Press publishes books with a number of associations and other organizations. The Association is heavily involved in editorial content and format; Scarecrow produces the finished books and handles all fulfillment and shipping. Our co-publishing partners are listed below:

American Theological Library Association

Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship

Children's Literature Association

Directors Guild of America

Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies

History of Our Name

For those curious about the Scarecrow name, it came about when company founder Ralph Shaw was explaining his idea for a new publishing venture to author and editor Earl Schenk Miers. Shaw knew that costs would have to be kept in control because he envisioned publishing scholarly books that were intellectually important, yet economically marginal. As Shaw described a company that would avoid excessive office costs, excessive editorial costs, general trade advertising, and the building up a staff, Miers broke in, saying, "You're talking about a scarecrow: it has no overhead, it pays no rent, it is not responsible for anybody's future clothing and shelter. It's a scarecrow!"

Scarecrow Press has come a long way in the past fifty years. Long known for producing sturdy, library-bound books, we have maintained that quality, but improved upon layout and design. And in an effort to reach a wider market, more resources are devoted to marketing our titles. Although the organization, with the addition of marketing and editorial staff, is no longer the scarecrow it once was, we continue to honor our founder's vision with a strong commitment to publishing intellectually important works. And we wouldn't dream of changing the name.