STPN PRESS As the Academic Supporting Unit in Publishing and Publication
‘Verba volent Scripta Manen’ is an ancient Latin proverb that can illustrate how important tradition is to present thoughts in writing. Thoughts and ideas are not to be merely verbalized. They need to be cared for and stored in written form. Therefore, as recorded in the history of people, writing culture has a very important place at the heart of civilization. Writing is a physical manifestation of spoken language. However, this does not mean that written culture (literacy world) is not related to the oral world (Duija, 2005). Written culture is part of the oral world. Without writing, oral culture will eventually be lost to the times. Writing was first known by the Sumerians in 3500-300 BC in its earliest form, a pictograph (Gischa, 2020). The written tradition is an inseparable part of the importance of sustainability from generation to generation. Combining ideas and thoughts in a writing is ‘a way to maintain immortality.’ By passing down thoughts through writing, a relay towards sustainability will undeniably take place. Writing is tantamount to preserving experiences for future generations.
STPN as the only university in the field of land, agrarian affairs, and spatial planning in Indonesia is fully committed to being a pioneer in producing quality selected agrarian works. Therefore, in the process of supporting better publishing management, STPN formed an integrated management unit within the Academic Support Unit (UPA) of Publishing and Publication in 2018. UPA Publishing and Publication is one of the supporting units at STPN which has the main task of organizing publication and publishing management activities in the fields of land, agrarian affairs, and spatial planning. UPA Publishing and Publication carries out 3 (three) main functions, namely: 1) publishing research results in the forms of journals, books, and others, both offline and online; 2) publication of the academic works of STPN’s academic community; and 3) collaboration with stakeholders in producing quality publication materials.
In fulfilling its main duties and functions, UPA Publishing and Publication has a vision to become the basis for developing agrarian literacy and a reference for agrarian, spatial, and land literature through the production of quality and leading-edge works on land, agrarian affairs, and spatial planning. UPA Publishing and Publication is fully committed to achieving its vision through consistent efforts: 1) carrying out a screening and selection process for important and quality agrarian works; 2) conducting partnerships and collaborations with authors, both individuals and institutions, to ensure the availability of manuscripts to be published on an ongoing basis; 3) distributing its products as a form of disseminating ideas and increasing the range of benefits from each work produced through UPA Publishing and Publication; 4) continuously improving its quality based on the needs of the institution in particular and/ or the need for improving agrarian literacy in general; 5) organizing discussions and book reviews as an effort to identify, analyze, and manage various inputs for the development of agrarian works that have been produced as well as the development of institutional management; and 6) conducting periodic review and evaluation of unit management by prioritizing institutional problem solving, human resources, and routine work faced by the Publishing and Publication unit.
In its commitment to network development, UPA Publishing and Publication has also registered STPN Press as a member of the Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI). Starting in 2020, STPN Press has officially become an ‘extraordinary member’ of the Indonesian Publishers Association No. 127/Extraordinary Member/ DIY/2020. In the future, the commitment to develop this network will continue. UPA Publishing and Publication is fully committed to managing the publication work at STPN. Again, publications play an important role in manifesting thoughts and ideas as well as being the downstream of the tridharma where education, research, and community service will come together. STPN Press will continuously grow to provide a home for the production of selected agrarian works and opportunities for all to learn together, share great ideas about land, agrarian affairs, and spatial planning. Agrarian affairs are a very strategic issue. Land has a very vital position in supporting human life. The need for land continues to increase all the time, while land never extends. The variety of needs or interests in land ultimately requires a clearer understanding of agrarian affairs in Indonesia in particular and the world in general (Maladi, 2015). To support this understanding, agrarian literacy is very important. It is this agrarian literacy that needs to be encouraged to continue to develop through the publication of quality works on land, agrarian affairs, and spatial planning.
