Oxford University Press is the publishing department of the University of Oxford. Books have been printed in Oxford since 1478, but the Press only started to be formally organized in 1586. The expansion of the press began in the early 17th c. when the Press obtained the rights to print the King James Bible. The press slowly grew to being a major publisher, opening an office in America in 1896.
Presently, Oxford University Press is the world's largest university press, publishing 4500 new titles yearly. OUP also publishes major reference works, including The Dictionary of National Biography and the Oxford English Dictionary.