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Open monographs: Benefits and Challenges

Dr Dorka Tamás

d.tamas@leeds.ac.uk

d.tamas@exeter.ac.uk

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UKRI Open Access Policy

“This policy applies to publications which need to acknowledge funding from UKRI or any of its councils. This includes funding from:

  • the research councils
  • Research England
  • Innovate UK.

It aims to ensure that findings from research funded by the public through UKRI can be freely accessed, used and built on.

The policy applies to:

  • peer-reviewed research articles submitted for publication on or after 1 April 2022
  • monographs, book chapters and edited collections published on or after 1 January 2024”

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Why monographs?

Prestige

Expectations

Career-development

Main “impact” in arts and humanities

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Open monographs �from 2019

  • Open access monographs CUP conference in October 2019
  • “Digital Science Report: The State of Open Monographs” – June 2019
  • “Diversifying readership through open access” – Springer Nature, Sept. 2020:

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Main benefits of open monographs

REACH A GLOBAL AUDIENCE

CONTRIBUTE TO GOALS OF KNOWLEDGE EQUITY

OPEN EDUCATION

HIGHER DOWNLOAD AND CITATION RATE

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Main challenges of open monographs

  • Costs
  • Infrastructure
  • It can reinforce the gap between universities with higher level and lower levels of funding
  • What is going to happen with non-UKRI research and independent scholars?
  • Different funding between STEM and HUM., Arts and Social Sciences

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Some things to consider…

  • In A+HUM., monographs are the “way to go” and they have a “slow burn” effect
  • Making previously published monographs subsequently open access (also digital archiving)
  • What takes priority… popular vs niche fields
  • e.g. Springer report: country names in title – more popular in that country
  • Hybrid models, such as view-only OA digital version

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From the OR case studies

Do you have open access publications?

“I tend to look at long-term projects and devote more energy to a larger outputs, which normally would be published as monographs. I don’t have that many journal articles that would qualify for open access. The monographs also have lots of images in them, which are subject to copyright.” – Cost of reproducing images

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How will you disseminate this project?

“There is definitely going to be a monograph and open access articles. I have been thinking of writing publications that more publicly available, and not just scholarly. Another output that will happen as a result of my research project is that a blue plaque is going to be erected to one of the figures I have been working on.” - OA articles but not OA monographs

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Conclusion

Open access monographs pose a challenge to academics, publishers, universities, and funding bodies

They are important and a “way to go” in the future

But there needs to be a clear and good infrastructure before it is mandated and Arts and Humanities need more help (particularly now, with the slashing of A+Hum. Departments…)