Salem Press

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Salem Press is a publisher of reference works on literature, history and biography, the social sciences, and science. Salem Press publishes comprehensive, multivolume sets under its Salem Press imprint, and smaller, condensed titles under its Magill’s Choice imprint. Products include traditional print products, e-books, and online databases designed for use at public, school, and college and university libraries.

[edit] Company History

The company was founded in 1949 by Frank N. Magill. What began as a one-book publishing philosophy grew to become the foundation for a growing list of reference works commonly known as Magill Books. Magill became publisher and editor-in-chief of Salem Press, which he continued to pursue actively until his death in 1997.

Salem Press was first located on Fifth Avenue in New York City, directly across the street from the New York Public Library. Between 1952 and 1975, Salem Press had an agreement with publisher Harper & Row, and together they published eleven reference titles (Harper & Row in a trade reference edition, Salem Press simultaneously in a library edition).

In 1975, Salem Press moved from New York City to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Not long thereafter, Magill established Salem's editorial office in Pasadena, California, and went on to develop a full line of reference resources.