Open Access and Books: Emerging New Models and the Global South

2020

Diversifying readership through open access: A usage analysis for OA books is a new white paper by Springer Nature and COARD based on usage data for 3,934 books, including 281 open access books. <br>This white paper presents the analysis of that data, exploring what effect, if any, publishing OA has on the geographic usage of books. The findings will be of interest to researchers, authors, librarians and publishers alike.<br>The white paper PDF and a zip file of all figures within the white paper have been attached. These figures can be used in presentations. All are released under a CC BY 4.0 licence.<br>The summary one page infographic can be downloaded here: https://figshare.com/articles/media/Infographic_summary_of_Diversifying_readership_through_open_access_A_usage_analysis_for_OA_books_white_paper/12933131 <br><br>Data relating to the white paper can be found together with the technical paper prepared by COARD: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.40149...

Serials Review, 2018

This column examines the growth and impact of open access (OA) with emphasis on a UK/European perspective. It considers the various colors of OA and the impact on authors, institutions, and funders and speculates on the future of traditional academic publishing. The author considers the pros and cons of a variety of OA methods-including the so-called guerrilla OA services and sites-and discusses the current mandates in place for the UK's upcoming Research Excellence Framework exercise, which will report back on the research outputs produced in universities between 2014 and 2020.

2017

Knowledge Exchange has published a first-of-a-kind report that is the biggest landscape study on the conditions and potentials for Open Access books yet. The report maps Finland, Netherlands, UK, France, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Austria; asking questions such as "Are books included in national Open Access policies?", "What kind of funding streams supporting open access monographs exist?", and "What variety of publishing models for Open Access monographs can be located?". The study shows t..

Shearer, K. & Babini, D.(2014). Challenges for the Global Periphery. In: Mapping the Future of Scholarly Publishing. The Open Science Initiative Working Group. National Science Communications Institute. http://nationalscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/OSI-report-Feb-2015.pdf (page 41-43)

2019

This document has been prepared for the European Commission. However, it reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu).

Cultural Science Journal, 2014

This special issue of Cultural Science Journal is devoted to the report of a groundbreaking experiment in re-coordinating global markets for specialist scholarly books and enabling the knowledge commons: the Knowledge Unlatched proof-of-concept pilot. The pilot took place between January 2012 and September 2014. It involved libraries, publishers, authors, readers and research funders in the process of developing and testing a global library consortium model for supporting Open Access books. The experiment established that authors, librarians, publishers and research funding agencies can work together in powerful new ways to enable open access; that doing so is cost effective; and that a global library consortium model has the potential dramatically to widen access to the knowledge and ideas contained in book-length scholarly works.

2017

The academy has long relied on publisher-facilitated research dissemination; yet digital dissemination has dramatically transformed the scholarly publishing field. Particularly, open access (OA) has disrupted an increasingly commodified and fetishised publishing praxis, creating an open intellectual commons. However, despite OA's public good, academics remain indifferent to its praxis. The UK academy's policy environment and cultural practices, represent a unique arena to consider these issues within. Limited research concerning the UK academy's rationales for OA engagement exists, particularly qualitative work critically evaluating influences and barriers to achieving cultural change. From a novel ethnographically-framed sociological perspective, combined with empirical investigations, this research addresses this gap in knowledge through comprehending academics' OA responses, publishing influences, actor power-relationships and related HE policy environments. A nov...

Available in Open Access to copy, distribute and transmit the work for non-commercial purposes with appropriate attribution to the work. Some rights reserved for adaptation and derivative works. Permission must be taken from UNESCO for commercial use. Adaptation and derivatives of the work should not carry the UNESCO logo, and UNESCO shall not be responsible for any distortion of facts therein. Distortion, mutilation, modi cation of a Work leading to derogatory action in relation to the author of the work, the Work, and reputation of UNESCO and its Member States will be treated as breach of the Open Access provision. The person/institution responsible for the adaptation/derivative work shall be responsible for legal action, if any, and shall indemnify UNESCO from any liability arising out of such action.

Scholarly and Research Communication, 2020

Background The vast opportunities that digital realities present in cultural and information industries have not been fully embraced by Canadian scholarly journal publishing and attendant policy. Analysis In Canada, the journal support programs that currently exist are minimal, dated, and do not encourage the development of a vibrant publishing sub-sector. A review of the evolution of Canadian government programs for book and magazine publishing underlines the achievements of government support for these sectors and the benefits they bring to Canada. Conclusion and implications Parallel support focused on emerging digital prospects in journal publishing, rather than editing and accessibility, would help pave the way for increased Canadian development in the quickly expanding knowledge economy. Contexte L’edition de revues savantes au Canada et les politiques qui s’y rattachent n’ont pas entierement profite des grandes occasions que representent les realites numeriques des industries...