Stockton U. Press Gives Students A Hand in Publishing South Jersey History

GALLOWAY, NJ — At Stockton University, students are helping publish books about South Jersey history while learning the details behind how printed works come together.

The university’s South Jersey Culture and History Center, directed by Distinguished Professor of Literature Tom Kinsella, has for 13 years run what Stockton says is the only student-staffed local history printing press in New Jersey. In recent years, the center has published about five to eight books annually on topics including the environment, Jewish farming, architecture and memoirs, with about 40 books published in total. The center also publishes SoJourn each year, a journal focused on the history, culture and geography of South Jersey.

Kinsella said books still matter, both as physical objects and as teaching tools.

“They’ll last longer than that thing in your hand,” the Stockton University Distinguished Professor of Literature said, referring to a student’s smartphone. “If you don’t throw it in water or put it in a fire, if you keep it in a reasonable environment, a book is going to last a long, long time.”

He said the work gives students practical experience that reaches beyond literature classes.

“Students are introduced to the details that make books work,” Kinsella said. “Students learn how to proofread, and edit, and how to complete design and layout. They make decisions about fonts, margins, headers and footers.” He added, “You are making decisions about the look and feel of something you’re communicating, whether that’s in a book or a podcast or even a social media post.”

Stockton senior Dickson Moreno helped produce Stories from Gibersonville on the Mullica River, a memoir by former Port Republic Mayor Gary Giberson. Moreno, a Literature major from Atlantic City, worked on the cover, font selection, editing and proofreading. “It’s a memoir and there are a couple of words that technically are misspellings, but that’s how people talked then,” he said.

Moreno said the center helps connect academic work to the local community.

“The center’s printing press is really important because it’s one of the channels to give a voice to people who live locally,” he said.

Students also worked on None of Us Are Frights, a new poetry collection by Taylor Carmen Savath about the history of disabled sideshow performers. Savath said, “This is South Jersey history down to its bones.”

Stockton sophomore Alyssa Shivers, who edited the collection, said design decisions shaped how readers experience the poems. “Should the text be more in the middle of the page? Should it be left-aligned? What fits the tone of each specific poem?”

Other books printed this year include Seven Bridges Road, Quaker Sons Go to War and Delaware River Tugboats. The books are available through Amazon and at Second Time Books in Mount Laurel. For information about the center, internships or purchasing a book, Kinsella can be reached at thomas.kinsella@stockton.edu.