Open Access Working Group

Spotlight on Open Access Monographs: Collecting Stories from LIBER Libraries

Posted: 25-04-2019 Topics: Annual Conference Open Access Strategy

The transition to Open Access (OA) has accelerated in recent months thanks to international initiatives such as Plan S.

Many of the initiatives are, however, focused on journal articles as the dominant format for disseminating research and, in particular, the publishing patterns within fields such as science, technology or medicine.

The lack of incentives for publishing plans or grant applications for book projects (including monographs and edited collections) — and other forms of research outputs that require longer lead times and diverse funding models — is seen by many stakeholders as a major challenge to reach the goal of 100% OA.

How Can Libraries Foster OA Growth Among Long-Form Research?

There are many ways in which libraries can foster publishing and implementation of OA for monographs, and LIBER’s Working Group on Open Access has identified a number of activities to align with the road ahead. In that context, we would like to explore the answers to two key questions:

  • What more can be done to foster the growth of OA to long-form research outputs such as the book?
  • What can libraries specifically do to contribute to a more balanced OA landscape, better representing all disciplines and formats?

OA Survey Focusing on Books

To investigate the activities and strategies already in place across LIBER’s network, we have created a survey to capture the many ways in which libraries work with OA books among the communities we serve.

We invite respondents from LIBER libraries to address questions such as:

  • How can libraries create workflows and funding mechanisms to encourage OA book publishing?
  • What kind of training is needed for library staff to adapt to the developments?
  • Can you support OA book publishing without starting your own university press?

Please submit your responses to the survey by the end of 17 May 2019.

The results will be shared during the Working Group’s pre-conference workshop at LIBER’s Annual Conference in Dublin, Ireland, and published on the LIBER website.

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