Solving the equity gap in open access with Bloomsbury Open Collections
Bloomsbury Open Collections for open access books. Our aim is to provide a route for Bloomsbury monographs to publish open access without the need for author-side fees, and thus to offer a more equitable and inclusive open access option. We launched the programme at the start of 2023 and are now in our third year. Read on for a recap of the model works and an update on the books and authors that we’ve been able to support so far.
An equity-led model for open-access books
At Bloomsbury, we have been offering open access (OA) for books since 2008, and we now publish more than 100 open access monographs every year. However, prior to 2023 almost all of these books were being published via an OA fee (BPC) model. We were very conscious that authors publishing OA with us typically either had research grants or were based at rich institutions, usually in the Global North1. This had the effect of conferring all the advantages that open access brings – greater visibility, dissemination, and readership – on those authors who were already in the most privileged positions. We launched Bloomsbury Open Collections with a view to providing an alternative route to OA monograph publication that would enable a more diverse range of authors to publish OA.
So how does Bloomsbury Open Collections work in practice? In essence, we are asking libraries that might otherwise have purchased our books instead to participate in a model that aims to make those books available open access immediately on publication. We provide additional private benefits for participating institutions.
As the name suggests, the model is predicated on a collections approach. Each year we curate three collections of titles that we want to publish open access. Currently our focus topics are:
- African Studies + International Development
- Environment + Climate Change
- Gender + Sexuality
Open Collections each have 20 titles. All the collections are interdisciplinary, and we ask editors from across Bloomsbury to recommend titles. When choosing titles, we prioritise authors based in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), early-career scholars (ECRs), and unaffiliated researchers. We also include some titles whose authors do not fall into these categories, but where there is a strong ethical argument for making the research open access. Authors who have access to independent funding for open access publication are not eligible.
We set a financial target – currently £160,000 – per collection. If we reach the full target, all 20 books from a collection will be made OA immediately on publication; if we reach 50% of the target, 10 books will publish OA, and so on in proportion to the amount of funding achieved.
When libraries participate financially in one of the collections, they are guaranteed permanent access to all 20 titles, regardless of whether or not we ultimately raise sufficient funds to publish all of them OA. Libraries additionally receive one year’s access to ~150 related backlist titles for each collection they participate in. In order to retain access to these backlist titles, libraries must continue to participate each year. As such, Bloomsbury Open Collections is a subscribe-to-open type open access model.
What have we achieved so far?
In our pilot year, in which we offered just one collection of 20 titles, we achieved 50% of our target and were able to make 10 books OA at no cost to the authors. You can read more about our pilot year on the OASPA blog, and hear from some of the authors about why open access was important to them on Bloomsbury’s blog.
In year two, we expanded to three collections and achieved 42% of our funding target. As a result, over the course of this year we will be making 24 further titles OA immediately on publication. In the 24 titles we are making OA as a result of year two:
- 10 titles have authors from low- and lower-middle income countries
- 11 titles have unaffiliated authors
- 8 titles have authors who are early-career researchers
As you might expect, these author groups are unevenly represented in the collections, with a higher proportion of authors from LMICs in the African Studies & International Development collection, and a large number of early-career researchers in Gender & Sexuality.
The vast majority of authors based in low- and middle-income countries were in Africa – unsurprising, given that African Studies is one of our focus topics. The chart below includes chapter contributors in edited collections as well as monograph authors.
69 institutions participated in year 2. You can see a full list on our website.
- 57% of were based in the USA
- 77% had >10,000 FTE.
- 52% participated in all three Open Collections
Although some institutions participated in just one or two of the Open Collections, the level of funding achieved was very consistent between all three, ranging from 41% to 43%.
With the support of our participating libraries, we’re delighted to have funded open access for 34 books so far via Bloomsbury Open Collections. The programme is delivering on its goals of making open access possible for a more diverse range of authors and making new research in key arts, humanities, and social science topics freely available to all – all the more crucial given the uncertainty created by the current political climate. We remain committed to the model, and ideally would expand the programme to cover more topics, and more books, in future. Any such expansion will be dependent on higher participation rates, however.
How can you get involved?
We are now in the third year of Bloomsbury Open Collections, with a new set of 60 books we are hoping to make available open access. We’ve retained the same focus topics – African Studies & International Development, Environment & Climate Change, and Gender & Sexuality – and are inviting participation from libraries until the end of November. You can read more about our 2025-26 offer on our website, where we have detailed FAQs for prospective participants. Do get in touch if you’re interested in participating, or if you have any questions or suggestions for us.
See our previous article for more insights into the funding sources of our OA books.