[BOAI] User needs study on OA Book Publishing

[Peter Suber]

[Forwarding from Open Access Publishing in 
European Networks (OAPEN).  --Peter Suber.]
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OAPEN Newsletter - October 2009

* User needs study on Open Access Book Publishing *

As part of the OAPEN project Prof.dr. Paul Rutten 
and Drs. Janneke Adema (Leiden University, The 
Netherlands) have carried out a study on user 
needs in relation to open access book publishing 
within the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS).

The study will be made available through OAPEN's 
website, www.oapen.org, by the end of October. 
Below are some of the main findings of the 
report. Please feel free to give your feedback on 
this summary to Janneke Adema (j.t.l.adema at hum.leidenuniv.nl).

Main Findings

.       Print remains important in HSS although a 
trend has been established to more digital 
consumption (more screen reading and E-Book use), 
more informal online communication (blogs and 
wiki's) and a small rise of scholarly writing 
specifically adapted to the digital environment. 
It is felt print and E-Books will coexist and 
will be used side-by-side for the time being.

.       Accessibility and dissemination of 
scholarly content are key. It is felt Open Access 
promotes both and does not necessarily harm the 
quality of publications. Accessibility also opens 
research up further, enabling content enhancement 
and connections (links) between publications. A 
good and easy way to use search function remains indispensable.

.       In the online environment filter and 
selection mechanisms such as peer review remain 
of the utmost importance to establish quality, as 
are (publishers) brands and (scholarly) 
reputations. It is felt Open Access monographs 
should pay extra attention to quality control to ensure their legitimacy.

.       Experiments with new forms of 
collaboration and new (Open Access) business 
models in book publishing are necessary. The 
research shows users are still skeptical about 
the sustainability of these kinds of models but 
feel experiments are essential to save the 
monograph from the traditional (print) publishing 
model that is no longer sustainable.

The research is based on a state of the art 
literature study, round table discussions, 
one-on-one interviews across Europe, and an online survey.


* OAPEN survey 'Funding of Monographs in the HSS' *

OAPEN is currently conducting a survey about the 
'Funding of Monographs in the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS)'

<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=GqUMvpUHKQ0zCQAXd5_2fDUg_3d_3d>http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=GqUMvpUHKQ0zCQAXd5_2fDUg_3d_3d

The survey invites authors/editors, funders and 
publishers to estimate how books are currently 
funded and how this might be complemented by 
funding opportunities for Open Access publishing 
of books. We welcome you to take part in the 
survey or to send it on to others who might be 
interested. The outcomes of the survey will 
support OAPEN in the development and 
implementation of an Open Access publication 
model for peer reviewed academic books in HSS.

The survey is based on the observation that 
publishing of monographs (including anthologies) 
in HSS often relies on additional funding on the 
part of authors/editors as costs can not solely 
be met by revenues of sales. So far funding 
institutions have mainly supported the print 
production and based their funding models on the 
traditional book market. The combination of a 
free (open access) electronic version (access, 
searchability, quick citability etc.) with a 
convenient pay print version offers new 
opportunities in visibility and dissemination.

* Meet us at Frankfurt Book Fair, 14-19 October 2009 *

Amsterdam University Press, stand 4.2 C410 (Man. 
Director Saskia de Vries, S.C.J.deVries at aup.nl / 
OAPEN coördinator Eelco Ferwerda, E.Ferwerda at aup.nl)

Museum Tusculanum Press, stand 4.2 C411 (Man. 
Director Marianne Alenius, alenius at mtp.dk)

Manchester University Press, stand 8.0 C921 (Man. 
Director David Rodgers, d.rodgers at manchester.ac.uk)

Universitätsverlag Göttingen, stand 4.2 M440 
(Head of Publishing Margo Bargheer, bargheer at sub.uni-goettingen.de)

Firenze University Press, stand 4.2 M442 (Man. 
Director Patrizia Cotoneschi, cotoneschi at unifi.it)



OAPEN is a Targeted Project co-funded by the EC 
within its eContentplus Programme.

OAPEN aims to develop and implement an Open 
Access publication model for academic books in 
the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS). Our 
goal is to achieve a sustainable European 
approach to improve the quantity, visibility and 
usability of high quality academic research and 
foster the creation of new content by developing 
future-oriented publishing solutions, including 
an Open Access Library for peer reviewed books in 
HSS. The 30-months project started in September 2008.

Learn more about OAPEN by visiting the website: www.oapen.org







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