Open Access Publishing
Part Two: Libraries and Librarians — Journal Publishing and New University Presses
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At Veruscript we have been talking to librarians throughout the research community to try and assess current concerns around open access and how these are being addressed. This is part two of a two-part blog post. In part one we looked at the problems currently faced by librarians. In part two we discuss the growth of New University Presses (NUPs), which focus on dissemination of research, and improving services for students and staff.
Librarian Roles
The growth of open access has shifted the roles of librarians, with many now focusing on advice around open access and scholarly communication. Librarians roles have grown and increasingly include elements such as funding mandates, article licensing, repositories, research data management, altmetrics and citation analysis. Before, much of this would have been the remit of publishers, with librarians only having a peripheral interest. With roles moving in that direction, and continued unhappiness with the current open access landscape, some libraries and librarians have been prompted to step even further into the world of publishing by starting new university presses (NUPs). The growth of NUPs has been examined by Graham Stone et al. in The Rise of the New University Press and Andrew Locket and Lara Speicher in their article New university presses in the UK.
Features of New University Presses
There are a variety of reasons and types of New University Presses being set up, but there are several common features:
Library-based
The establishment of NUPs is usually driven by libraries and librarians wishing to develop the services offered to their institution members. They do not always stay within the library, but the initial drive, infrastructure, and expertise emerges from the library.
Open Access
Open access is pretty much a given when discussing the establishment of new university presses, especially when the drivers around them are the unhappiness with current open access publishing, and increasing the reach of research. Some levy Article Processing Charges (APCs) on authors, others are looking at establishing charges, but the majority do not have APCs, preferring a platinum open access model.
Cost-centre, not profit making
Unlike many of the large older university presses, most NUPs are not expected to return a profit to their institution. The motivations behind launching a press are discussed below, but as a library is seen as worthy investment for an institution, so are the new university presses.
Motivations to Start NUPs and Benefits to Institutions
In our discussions from those who have started, or are thinking of starting, university presses there are a range of motivations but all focus on improving the services offered to researchers and students:
Outreach: NUPs are seen as vehicles to raise the profile of the work being produced by an institution’s researchers and of the institution itself. By publishing interdisciplinary or niche research that would otherwise struggle to find a venue, and the funds to publish open access, NUPs allow research to be accessible to those in academia, industry and practice who otherwise wouldn’t have access.
Impact: Many people we talked to felt that research published in university presses receives more citations than it would otherwise have got elsewhere. Obviously, this is a point that is very difficult to prove, as many have found when investigating citation advantages in open access publishing. However, many NUPs have a specific mandate to publish research that would struggle to find a home and they see their publishing as complementary rather than competitive with current academic publications. By making research that would not otherwise be accessible open access, they are certainly increasing the impact of that research.
Undergraduates and Postgraduates: Student journals are often a contributing factor to the decision to start a press. These journals can help students gain experience in academic publishing, give a tangible benefit to members of the institution, and help in the retention of students to postgraduate level. They also help preserve research done at different levels in the university. These journals would not be published by mainstream publishers, but are very rewarding for students.
Cost-effective and efficient publishing: Many NUPs are partly motivated by a desire to make open access publishing more cost-effective and efficient. Providing free or cheap options for their researchers to publish open access, not only frees up librarian and researcher time and institutional funds, but also reduces the overall costs of open access.
Innovation: Some institutions are looking at starting university presses because they would like to drive innovation in the publishing world. Whether looking at audio-visual presentation, methods of publication, micro-publication, registered reports, preprints, peer review, commenting or data publication, these institutions are driven by a desire to experiment and move publishing forwards.
Challenges for NUPs
Whilst establishing and running NUPs, many people have come across the same challenges, most notably focused around infrastructure and support.
Infrastructure: Many university presses are built on top of repository infrastructure, which makes for a poor end-user experience. There are also a lack of submission systems that are affordable for NUPs, making tracking and monitoring submissions a more time consuming experience than it needs to be.
Expertise and Support: NUPs are small, and for the staff running them, this can be isolating. Whilst the community around NUPs is very supportive and willing to help, accessing this community can sometimes be difficult. Megan Taylor of University of Huddersfield Press has set up a listserv to help bring people together, and we have set up a Publishing 101 blog to help build up a library of useful information.
Preservation: This is linked to the challenges around infrastructure and support. When asked, many NUPs hadn’t even started thinking about implementing a preservation service for their publications, however it is a very important element of academic publishing.
Discoverability: Again related to infrastructure issues, the majority of NUPs are publishing only on PDFs, without any XML versions available. This both makes their outputs more difficult to find, but also means they are not format-agnostic or future-proof. Efforts to ensure costs remain low contribute to the decision to have a PDF format only, but XML is worth investigating.
Time: Of course, running a university press takes time and enthusiasm, which can be difficult to sustain. The benefits of a press are clear, but this doesn’t mean that all institutions have the bandwidth to set up and maintain one. Services (including ours) are starting to try and reduce the amount of time that staff would need to spend on the infrastructure and publishing services side, making presses easier to set up and run.
At Veruscript, we believe the rise in New University Presses can be a great new force in academic publishing. If you would like to talk to us about setting up a press, or would like advice on any aspect of open access publishing, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
With thanks to everyone that volunteered their time to discuss these issues with us.
Lisa Walton
Executive Editor
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