Open Access books

Open Access Book Publishing Options 

Choosing the right venue is key to publishing your research and when it comes to open access (OA) book pulishing, there are a variety of options. 

Library Membership 

Libraries pay an annual membership fee to publishers to support the costs of making books open access e.g. Open Book Publishers.  

Book Processing Charges (BPCs) and Chapter Processing Charges (CPCs)

Publishers charge one-off payments to make a book or book chapter open access. These can be quite large e.g., £5,000-15,000 per whole book. Many commercial publishers offer this model now e.g. Bloomsbury. 

We have agreements with certain publishers which include discounts on BPCs and CPCs for OU authors. Currently this includes Bristol University Press/Policy Press (15% discount on BPCs and CPCs) and MDPI (10% discount on BPCs).

Institutional Open Access Book Fund pilot

The Open University is currently piloting an Open Access Book Fund which will run for 2 years from 1^st August 2024, and is open for applications from 5th June 2024. The purpose of the fund is to enable books (that are not arising from externally funded research where the funder meets OA book publishing costs, e.g., UKRI) that are likely to be submitted to the Research Excellence Framework 2029 to be published open access. The fund is limited, and authors can apply for a maximum of £10,000 per book. Edited collections and book chapters are not eligible for the fund. Please read the full eligibility and selection criteria on the Open Access Book Fund pilot webpage.

Green OA

Publisher allows authors to make their books, or parts of their books, available via an OA repository where they can be accessed openly. Please check with your publisher or contact our team mailbox if you want to find out about green open access options.

Freemium

Publishers offer basic services for the work to be made available freely, but charge for additional features and functionality e.g., OpenEdition.   

Subsidised 

Institutional presses that offer subsidised OA publication through their university press e.g. UCL Press. Member institution authors can benefit from fee waivers/discounts. 

Scottish University Press

The OU is a member of this initiative to create a new fully open access and non-profit publishing press owned and managed by Scotland’s University Libraries.  The Scottish University Press will provide a cost-effective route for open access book publishing for researchers.  Follow the Press on X @scotunipress  or view the introductory video on YouTube. 

Self-publishing 

Authors use independent services and technologies to publish their book openly.  

UKRI Open Access Policy 

UKRI Open Access Policy is in place for books, edited books and book chapters published from the 1st of January 2024.  Books, edited books and  book chapters that acknowledge a UKRI grant must be made open access with a Creative Commons license (Preferably CC-BY, but other licenses are permitted) and with no more than a 12-month embargo. UKRI are proividing central funding to cover costs (maximum contributions apply). 

Please note: If you have signed an agreement with a publisher before 1st January 2024  that prevents following this policy, the open access policy will not apply.

OAPEN Open Access

This page has provided a brief overview of funder requirements and the open access options available to you. For an in-depth look at open access books, you may find the OAPEN OA Books Toolkit useful.