Change and a “shared vision” required for OA book publishing
UKRI, in partnership with the Association of Learned Society Publishers (ALPSP), the British Academy, and the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA), has commissioned a project from Information Power to support book publishers in their transition to sustainable open access (OA) models.
The project had a particular focus on learned society, subject association, and smaller specialist publishers.
How to Begin the OA Transition: a guide for smaller and specialist publishers was developed as part of the project and accompanies a fuller report for all stakeholders, which provides detailed advice and guidance for both independent publishers and those who work with larger publishing partners.
The authors state: “In order to offer a framework for helping stakeholders to make decisions and prioritise actions and investments, a shared vision is essential. During the project we worked with the full range of stakeholders to craft one. It sets out a clear and compelling future that all stakeholders can aspire to. It also serves as a reference point and provides a benchmark against which progress can be measured.
“The recommendations in the report support this vision for OA books. We conclude that change is needed from all stakeholders – funders, libraries/consortia, and supply chain partners in addition to publishers – if OA book publishing is to scale up and be successful.”