HighWire Press
HighWire is a U.S.-based hosting and publishing technology service for academic and scholarly publications.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
HighWire is an academic publishing technology and internet hosting service founded by Stanford University Libraries in 1995. The organization was created to help scholarly publishers distribute journals and other research content online at a time when electronic publishing was still developing. Its first major online journal project was the Journal of Biological Chemistry, published by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and originally established in 1905. HighWire’s role is primarily infrastructural rather than that of a conventional consumer-facing media brand. It provides hosting and digital publishing capabilities for scholarly and professional societies, publishers, and journal programs. Through publications hosted on its platform, HighWire has made millions of research articles available online, including a substantial body of content offered freely to readers. Its work has therefore been associated with the expansion of online access to scientific, technical, and medical literature. The service has also developed tools supporting discovery, usage analysis, and publisher operations. Its search capabilities attracted attention in a 2007 study, which reported that HighWire’s search engine identified desired articles more effectively and returned more results than comparable searches on PubMed, although PubMed was faster. HighWire later received recognition for Vizors, an analytics and business-intelligence product designed to help publishers understand the performance and use of their content. Ownership changed significantly during the 2010s. In 2014, private-equity firm Accel-KKR acquired a majority stake in HighWire. In 2017, the organization announced that the journals it published would be indexed in Meta, supporting broader discovery of hosted scholarly material. In 2020, HighWire was acquired by MPS Limited, a company focused on content, technology, and services for scholarly and academic publishing. HighWire has received industry recognition for both its publishing infrastructure and its analytics capabilities. It won the Association for Learned and Professional Society Publishers’ 2003 award for service to not-for-profit publishing, was included in Outsell’s 2014 list of organizations to watch in scientific, technical, and medical information, and received a 2018 SIIA CODiE Award for Vizors. HighWire’s founding director, John Sack, also received the Council of Science Editors’ 2011 Award for Meritorious Achievement. The brand’s significance lies chiefly in its role as enabling infrastructure for scholarly communication rather than in direct ownership of a single journal or broad consumer audience.
History
HighWire was established in 1995 by Stanford University Libraries to support the emerging transition from print-based scholarly communication to online publishing. Its early work centered on hosting scientific and professional journals, with the Journal of Biological Chemistry serving as its first major online publication. That journal was published by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and had originated in 1905. The platform developed as a specialist technology service for scholarly publishers rather than as a general-interest web publisher. Its infrastructure enabled participating journals to distribute articles online and, in many cases, to provide free access to substantial portions of their content. HighWire-hosted publishers collectively came to make millions of articles available, giving the service an important role in the digital dissemination of scientific, technical, medical, and professional research. HighWire’s search and discovery functions were also evaluated in the scholarly information environment. A 2007 study reported that its search engine outperformed PubMed in identifying desired articles and produced more results in the comparison described by the study, while PubMed completed searches more quickly. This distinction reflected HighWire’s position as both a hosting environment and a route into the literature held on participating journal sites. The organization received early industry recognition in 2003, when the Association for Learned and Professional Society Publishers gave it an award for service to not-for-profit publishing. In 2011, founding director John Sack received the Council of Science Editors’ Award for Meritorious Achievement. HighWire was later identified by Outsell in 2014 as one of the organizations to watch in scientific, technical, and medical information. Ownership shifted away from its original university-library setting during the 2010s. Accel-KKR purchased a majority interest in HighWire in 2014. In 2017, HighWire announced that its journal portfolio would be indexed in Meta, an initiative intended to improve discovery of the publications hosted through the service. The company also expanded its technology offering beyond core hosting. Its Vizors product, focused on analytics and business intelligence for publishers, won the Best Business Intelligence Reporting & Analytics Solution award at the 2018 SIIA CODiE Awards. HighWire was also named a Best Place to Work by the Business Intelligence Group in May 2018. In 2020, MPS Limited acquired HighWire. The transaction placed HighWire within a larger provider of services and technology for academic and professional publishing. HighWire’s historical development therefore spans three broad phases: creation within Stanford University Libraries, expansion as an independent scholarly publishing infrastructure provider, and integration into a commercial publishing-services group. Its continuing identity is tied to the technical enablement of online scholarly journals, article discovery, publisher analytics, and broader digital access to research content.
- 2020
MPS Limited acquires HighWire
[1]MPS Limited acquired HighWire and incorporated the scholarly publishing technology business into its broader services portfolio.
- 2018
Vizors wins an SIIA CODiE Award
[1]HighWire’s Vizors analytics product won the CODiE award for Best Business Intelligence Reporting & Analytics Solution.
- 2017
Journals announced for indexing in Meta
[1]HighWire announced that its journal portfolio would be indexed in Meta to support wider discovery.
- 2014
Accel-KKR acquires a majority stake
[1]Private-equity firm Accel-KKR purchased majority ownership of HighWire.
- 2014
HighWire named an organization to watch
[1]Outsell included HighWire among its organizations to watch in the scientific, technical, and medical information sector.
- 2011
John Sack receives Council of Science Editors award
[1]Founding director John Sack received the Council of Science Editors Award for Meritorious Achievement.
- 2003
ALPSP recognizes HighWire for service to not-for-profit publishing
[1]HighWire received the Association for Learned and Professional Society Publishers award for service to not-for-profit publishing.
- 1995
HighWire founded by Stanford University Libraries
[1]Stanford University Libraries established HighWire to support online distribution and hosting of scholarly publications.
- 1995
Journal of Biological Chemistry becomes the first major online journal on the platform
[1]The Journal of Biological Chemistry, published by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, was the first journal launched online through HighWire.
Products and positioning
A specialist publishing-technology partner that provides online hosting, discovery, analytics, and related infrastructure for academic, scientific, technical, medical, and professional publishers.
Scholarly publishing infrastructure · 1995
HighWire publishing and hosting platform
HighWire’s core service hosts online journals and scholarly articles for academic societies, professional organizations, and other publishers. The platform supports digital distribution of research content and has been used for scientific, technical, medical, and professional publications. HighWire-hosted publishers collectively make millions of articles available, including a substantial amount of freely accessible material.
Publisher analytics
Vizors
Vizors is HighWire’s analytics and business-intelligence offering for scholarly publishers. It was recognized for reporting and analytics capabilities at the 2018 SIIA CODiE Awards, where it won the Best Business Intelligence Reporting & Analytics Solution category.
Brand decisions
2020
Acquisition by MPS LimitedM&ABackground
HighWire was operating within the scholarly publishing technology sector after majority ownership had been acquired by Accel-KKR in 2014.
Action taken
MPS Limited acquired HighWire.
Aftermath
HighWire became part of MPS Limited’s broader academic and professional publishing services and technology business.
2017
Journals selected for indexing in MetaStrategyBackground
HighWire sought to increase the visibility and discoverability of journals hosted through its platform.
Action taken
The company announced that its journals would be indexed in Meta.
Aftermath
The initiative expanded the routes through which users could discover content from the HighWire journal portfolio.
2014
Majority ownership sold to Accel-KKRM&ABackground
HighWire moved from its original Stanford University Libraries ownership structure toward private-equity ownership as the scholarly publishing technology market matured.
Action taken
Accel-KKR purchased a majority stake in HighWire.
Aftermath
HighWire continued operating as a specialist scholarly publishing technology provider and later changed ownership again through its acquisition by MPS Limited.
Recent events
Reported
IOS Press renews hosting agreement and upgrades to Scolaris[2]
IOS Press chose to upgrade to HighWire's Scolaris content-hosting platform and renew its hosting agreement with HighWire for another five years.
Reported
HighWire and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory renew partnership[3]
HighWire renewed its long-standing partnership with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and will continue hosting the laboratory's eight journals under the renewed agreement.
Reported
MPS completes acquisition of HighWire Press[4]
MPS Limited completed its acquisition of HighWire Press on July 1, 2020.
Sources5 sources
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