Open Access Books

The production of academic books is a long-standing tradition, in particular in the Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, and Law: monographs and edited volumes are considered the culmination of years of research, whereas textbooks, critical text editions, and discipline-specific reference works are also important to peer communities. Because of this diversity in appearance, book projects often require substantial, customized editorial investment. 

As a result of this necessarily tailored support, book publishing is spread over a wide variety of publishing entities: large commercial conglomerates, established university presses (for-profit or not), small publishing companies, learned societies, scholar-led communities, library departments, and self-publishing platforms. 

The diversity in output types and variety in publishing service providers render centralised policy development for book publishing difficult. Moreover, the sustained and specific effort required to write, edit, and publish a book makes this type of publication costly to produce; to produce it in open access – freely online available for anyone – is another challenge. 

These pages therefore aim to assist (prospective) book authors and editors as well as research support professionals, in the stages of getting books published in open access. We provide an introductory overview of the following topics: 

• Open Access models for books 
  • Fee-based OA via the publisher 
  • No-fee OA via the publisher 
  • OA via self-archiving 
• Books in Open Access policies 
  • Research funder policies 
  • Institutional policies
• Criteria for choosing a book publisher or platform
  • Open Access models and funder compliance
  • Copyright and rights retention
  • Publication licenses 
  • Technical services 
  • Editorial services  

In this publishing context characterized by library biodiversity and a multitude of actors, no single OA model has yet positioned itself as dominant. The mix of traditional book publishers and (idealistic or market-driven) innovation has resulted in a whole range of business models; some of these models recover publishing costs from the author, while others are supported by universities and can therefore operate at no cost to authors and readers.

If you need more information, want to compare experiences or discuss your specific project, please turn to the Netherlands Open Access Books Community, and/or to your university’s open access support. 

Most established publishers use Book Processing Charges (BPCs) to cover the cost of open access publishing. Depending on the publisher and the length of the book, these BPCs can vary widely, ranging from €5,000 to more than €15.000+. Some publishers offer the option of making a book open access at a discounted BPC after an embargo period of 12-24 months (“delayed OA”), but since it is often not made transparent how the discount offered is proportional to the publisher's revenues during the embargo period, this model can be seen as a form of double dipping. 

Other publishers are instead experimenting with business models that do not charge BPCs, such as freemium (e.g. OpenEdition), collective funding models and library membership (e.g. Open Book Collective, Punctum Books and Sidestone Press), institutional subsidy models (e.g. Netherlands University Presses)), voluntary author contributions (e.g. Open Book Publishers), the sale of paper books (e.g. Language Science Press), or some combination of these. These models all fall under the Diamond open access umbrella, where publications are made available immediately and with an open license (usually Creative Commons) at no cost to authors or readers.

Green OA may also be an option for books. Often, publishers’ self-archiving policies for books include embargo periods and allow only for a small part of the publication to be made available. The version of the output that can be shared varies by publisher but usually consists of the version that does not include work carried out by the publisher. Single chapters in edited volumes count as short scholarly work, which means they qualify for the Taverne route and can be made available after a six-month embargo, regardless of the publisher's own embargo policies.

When selecting a publisher for an OA book, several factors must be considered: 

• Your grantor's open access requirements, if any. When it comes to books, these can vary widely and some funders are more stringent than others. (Publication after an embargo period is sufficient for NWO, for example, but not for ERC.)
• The publisher's values, code of conduct and business model are also critical. If the publisher charges a BPC, is there transparency about its amount and calculation? Do you have funding available to cover these costs?
• The publisher's academic quality and peer review process 
• Practical issues around the file formats supported for e-books, and whether they allow for all desired functionality (e.g., embedding multimedia applications). 
• Licensing options should be reviewed to ensure they offer suitable OA terms. If the publisher proposes an ND or NC Creative Commons license, ensure what this will mean for you in practice and who will manage these rights. Sometimes, publishers will use these restrictions to make money from the sale of your work, or make it harder to produce new or translated editions. Use the NWO/UKB guide to Creative Commons licenses or ask your open access or copyright librarian for advice if necessary.
• Consider the timeline for OA publication: will the book be available immediately, or subject to embargo? If the publisher provides a BPC discount in exchange for a longer embargo, are they transparent about the calculation of this discount?
• Long-term preservation is another important factor; ensure the publisher guarantees the continued accessibility of the book, for instance via OAPEN and CLOCKSS. 
• Finally, assess how the publisher plans to disseminate and promote the book to ensure visibility and discoverability.

The Netherlands University Presses (NUPs) are a great example of how Diamond Open Access (OA) can work on a large scale. The NUPs network includes presses from universities such as Maastricht University Press, Open Press Tilburg University, Radboud University Press, TU Delft Open Publishing, University of Groningen Press, and Leiden University Press. 

The goals of these university presses is to remove financial barriers for both authors and readers, while ensuring sustainable and high-quality publications. In addition, authors retain copyright of their books, meaning they retain control over how their work is used and shared.

NUPs cover the full breadth of scholarly research in the Netherlands, from international to local, with room for multilingualism and other forms  bibliodiversity. NUPs can accommodate subjects that may not find a place with larger publishers with a commercial or international focus. NUPs publish journals, monographs, collections and textbooks; the precise range of offerings varies from press to press

Third-party content can be included in open access books, but there are a few key considerations to keep in mind. First, it is important to obtain the necessary permissions from the rights holders of any third-party material. With third-party copyrighted material, it is likely that the rights holder will not grant permission to share their material under the same open license as the book as a whole. In that case, a more restrictive license can be agreed upon for their material. Every piece of content originating from third parties should be provided with a source citation that includes both the name of the copyright holder and the license under which the material is shared.

The OAPEN Foundation has created a Toolkit to promote and support open access to academic books. It serves as a key resource for researchers, libraries, institutions, funders, publishers and anyone interested in open access book publishing. The Toolkit includes concise articles on a wide range of topics related to open access books, with each article offering references and further reading. As part of the EU-funded PALOMERA project, a Knowledge Base was also added to assist with policy development in the field of open access books.