Tom speaking at the UKSG conference.
long-form publications, with some mono- graphs being the result of several years of work, meaning some scholars are hesitant to engage with an unfamiliar publishing format. For example, common misconcep- tions include the belief that open access titles are not peer reviewed and are not published as print copies when in reality many open access titles go through the same peer review process as non-open access titles, and print copies are sold.
Prestige
Another barrier to the widespread adop- tion of open access for books is the issue of prestige. Prestige has currency in some circles of academia, some authors fear that the publisher of an output could be perceived by some as a proxy for the qual- ity or significance of that research. Typi- cally, traditional commercial publishers who tend to charge higher Book Process- ing Charges are seen as more prestigious. Monographs carry more weight than other formats of publications in researcher as- sessment exercises, promotions cases and job applications. This can prevent authors from engaging with publishers offering al- ternative, more affordable models of open access publication than BPCs.
Influencing research culture Our approach at Lancaster University has been to move beyond being a service provider to a partner with our researcher community to shape the culture of our institution. In trying to address these challenges, we asked ourselves where do
22 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
we have power and influence as a library? One area we identified was our using position and relationship with authors to facilitate research culture change. As a library, we are seen as a trusted part- ner by authors when it comes to decisions about their publications, and this presented an opportunity to try and influence their decision making.
We have approached this by presenting open access as part of normal, every- day practices for our researchers. Since 2023, we have developed a programme of activity to celebrate the successes of our authors who have published open access books. This includes producing a series of case studies with authors from a range of disciplines discussing their experiences of publishing open access.
We’ve also utilised our library spaces to host a series of book launches and exhibitions promoting the publication of new open access titles by our authors. The aim of these activities was to present open access book publishing as an achievement and something researchers could aspire towards by celebrating the work of our authors.
Misconceptions
These events and exhibitions also aimed to challenge misconceptions towards open access book publishing within our researcher community, such as demon- strating that print copies of books can be sold for open access books by displaying physical copies at these events. We also deliberately highlighted the academic
quality of the works during these activities by emphasising the peer review and edito- rial process each title underwent. Our events included the launch of the
book Abortion Trail Activism: The Global Infrastructures for Abortion Access by Dr Deirdre Duffy, and a book launch and exhibition for the title Catherine Malabou and Contemporary French Literature and Film by Dr Benjamin Dalton. Both events featured a panel conversation and Q&A on the book’s key themes, which touched on how open access was achieved for the book and how this might allow a wider audience to reach this work. In addition to hosting these events, we recorded case studies with authors who published open access books and mono- graphs to share their experiences. These interviews are available on our Lancaster University YouTube channel. (https://tinyurl. com/Lancasteryoutube)
Addressing prestige currency through reward and recognition
The library has led a programme of work to address the issue of prestige potentially preventing some authors from engaging with open access publishing through utilising our institutions’ reward and recognition structures. In May of this year, the university published a set of guiding principles on the Responsible Use of Research Metrics, which builds on our university’s commitment to DORA. We have also collaborated with partners from across the university to update our institutions academic promotions criteria
June-July 2026
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