The Rhode Island Publications Society

THE RHODE ISLAND PUBLICATIONS SOCIETY (RIPS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural foundation incorporated in 1981 under Rhode Island law to publish and distribute works relating to Rhode Island’s history, economy, and cultural life. The society is a direct outgrowth of the publications committee of the Rhode Island Bicentennial Commis­sion, which was established in 1974, during the bicentennial of American independence, to publish books about Rhode Island in the Revolutionary era. When the bicentennial observance ended, commission chairman, Dr. Patrick T. Conley, decided to retain and expand the publications program of that organization. RIPS is the result of that decision.

Since 1974 the society and its predecessor have published or cosponsored approximately sixty books and pamphlets on Rhode Island and its cities and towns, including such highly acclaimed works as The Album of Rhode Island History, The Rhode Island Atlas, The Rhode Island Guide, Fire’s Center, Caty, Rhode Island Profile, Defenses of Narragansett Bay, Providence: A Pictorial History, Firefighters and Fires in Providence, Liberty and Justice: A History of Law and Lawyers in Rhode Island, 1636–1998, Neither Separate Nor Equal: Legislature and Executive in Rhode Island Constitutional History, The Rhode Island Ethnic Heritage Pamphlet Series, and the Rhode Island Revolutionary Heritage Series. In addition, the society was an initial sponsor of the Papers of Nathanael Greene and the Rhode Island volume in the New England Bibliography series.

RIPS distributes the publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society, the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, the Diocese of Providence, and several local historical societies. It also markets books dealing with the Rhode Island experience from university presses and commercial publishers.

RIPS is largely a volunteer effort. The funds generated from the sale of its publications are supplemented by grants from governmental agencies, corporations, and private foundations. Since its book sales do not equal its expenditures, the society is dependent upon such grants for its continued operation and existence. Gifts to RIPS, a nonprofit agency with IRS 501(c)(3) tax exemption designation, are fully tax deductible. These gifts will ensure that the Rhode Island reading public continues to receive an up-to-date and diverse array of books about its state and local heritage.

Newport harbor

Thomas Wilson Dorr