Oxford University Press (OUP), a department of the University of Oxford, is the largest university press in the world. The university became involved in printing around 1480, becoming a major source of Bibles, prayer books and scholarly works. It took on the Oxford English Dictionary project in the late 19th century, and in order to meet the ever-rising costs of the work, it expanded into publishing children's books, school text books, music, journals, and the World's Classics series. OUP is committed to major financial support of the university and to furthering the university's excellence in scholarship, research and education through its publishing.