As part of the emerging open science movement，Open access academic books appear relatively invisible。What benefits can open access academic books bring to academia and even human society？What unique dynamics does this issue exhibit，Make it both connected and differentiated from other open science activities？How to reasonably deal with its potential risks？At what stage has the wave of open access academic books developed，How will the future develop？These issues deserve attention。To answer these questions，Our reporter interviewed relevant scholars。

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Talking about the value of open access academic books，Literature at Birkbeck, University of London, UK、Martin Paul Eve, professor of technology and publishing and chief developer of Crossref research and experimental development, told this reporter，Knowledge is meaningless if it cannot be acquired。Currently，People around the world face many difficulties in reading academic books，If academic books are niche, scarce and expensive，There are still some people who are unable to go to the library due to physical reasons。The result is，Although academic books have condensed the efforts of relevant personnel for many years，But only a few people have the chance to read it，This is really a pity。In comparison，Open access scholarly books to anyone、Open anywhere and at any time。It uses digital communication methods，Make knowledge accessible to those who cannot afford it，And people who cannot go to the library due to physical reasons can also learn about the research results，This way we can build a fairer world。In addition，Humanities scholars also have the opportunity to present their work more broadly。When researchers in the humanities feel the impact of funding cuts，Open access can provide them with a better opportunity to showcase their work to the world。

Organization of Lancaster University, UK、Joe Deville, professor of the Department of Work and Technology and the Department of Sociology, told this reporter，current，The mainstream publishing model of academic books is no longer fit for purpose。Generally speaking，Large commercial publishers sell academic books to libraries at high prices，Digital versions of books available through a proprietary platform，These platforms require user subscription to use。Bigger scale、Better-funded universities can afford to provide their own researchers and students with access to these resources，The access path of other readers is closed。In comparison，Open access scholarly books in native digital format，The advantages are more obvious in terms of online distribution and being discovered by readers in need。So，These books should be made available to those who need to read，Whether they are researchers or the general public。

Niels Stern, managing director of the OAPEN Foundation, said in an interview with this newspaper，He welcomes the opportunity to share their work and how to support open access to academic books with Chinese readers，And introduced in detail the two platforms OAPEN and Open Access Book Directory (DOAB)。He explained the benefits of open access academic books from three aspects。One，As long as you have access to the Internet，Open access scholarly books available to anyone for free，Reducing barriers to accessing knowledge bet365 best casino games and creating a more inclusive academic environment。Easy access to a wide range of research resources also helps foster interdisciplinary collaboration，Accelerate the pace of discovery and innovation。Part 2，Academic books published under the open access model can reach a wider audience，Thus increasing the impact and visibility of research，Building a communication bridge between academia and the public。Part 3，Open access scholarly book platforms make knowledge available beyond those institutions that can afford expensive subscriptions，Can promote fair allocation of educational resources。In addition，The benefits of open access academic books and academic journals are roughly the same，But the audience for academic books is often larger than science、Technology、Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Journals Broader。Therefore，The general public can greatly benefit from open access scholarly books。

Lucy Barnes is Senior Editor and Outreach Coordinator at Open Book Publisher。She told this reporter，Books are art、Main publishing formats for publications in the Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) disciplines。While journal articles are also important to these disciplines，But important contributions in this field are often achieved through books as a medium。current，Traditional acquisition of academic books is quite expensive，And sales are limited，Greatly affected the public’s interest in reading。

In sharp contrast to this is，When the book is launched as open access，Can be downloaded hundreds of thousands of times around the world。On the one hand，This has obvious benefits for readers，They access resources for different reasons，To meet the fun of learning or your own professional needs；On the other hand，It would also be of great benefit to these disciplines to make their research results available to everyone。In addition，Art、Humanities and social science disciplines face insufficient funding、Undervalued situation，When its research results are made open access，How much public interest does the subject involve?、How research results are applied within and outside academia，It becomes more and more clear。In her opinion，This is art、Clear evidence of the importance of humanities and social science disciplines，Helpful in rebutting "They are incidental"、Points of view that are meaningless or unimportant。

　Production costs become an obstacle

What are the unique features of open access academic books，The interviewed scholars invariably mentioned two key words - book processing fees and production costs。Dwyer talks about，Compared to journal publishing，The shortcomings of the dominant mechanism for funding open access are even more severe in long-form publications，This is a special feature of book publishing。The author or institution is required to pay an article processing fee to make a scholarly journal article open access，In the UK，Typically processing fee is nearly £2,000 per paper，The corresponding processing fees for open access academic books are even higher，Up to £13,000 and above。The high fees are not only difficult for individual scholars to afford，The higher education sector will also face tremendous pressure to bear these costs。Therefore，People need to come up with targeted solutions，To address the issue of funding open access academic books。

According to Deville，His organization, the Open Book Collective, has raised around £700,000 in renewable annual grants from major academic libraries，Direct funding to small publishers committed bet365 best casino games to open access。These funds are provided by nearly 100 universities，It not only helps to promote the production of research results，Also used to support infrastructure construction related to academic publishing。Member institution of the Open Book Collection - Thoth Open Metadata platform、OAPEN and others are carrying out relevant work，Thereby improving the searchability of open access academic books、Accessibility and the ability to store it longer。The COPIM Open Book Futures Project, a large-scale project led by De Vere, explores different models for supporting the publication of long-form research，To promote a more equitable publishing ecosystem。Project content includes building a new profit model，Helping publishers move from traditional models to open access；New storage solutions for open access publishers，Help it update mechanisms to improve the accessibility of open access scholarly books to users with different needs (such as screen reader users)；Carry out pilot projects to explore the potential of open access experimental books and more。

Yves thinks，The uniqueness of book publishing is quite obvious from an economic perspective。Publishing a book is expensive，Because there are many stages involved in the production process。If authors or their institutions are required to pay processing fees，It will make the economic model under open access more complicated。In the context of open access，Third party reuse rights (such as images in art history books) may also be difficult to negotiate。Although these difficulties can be overcome，But it needs everyone’s attention。

Barnes said，Book publishing differs from journal publishing in many ways。Writing and publishing a book takes longer than writing and publishing a journal article。To the author，Published books are often the product of years, if not decades, of research；And for publishers，We have to face a series of complex problems，Includes proper indexing in book、Metadata、Use excellent marketing strategies to ensure sales, etc.。This means that books are expensive to produce，And it is of great significance to the author。Therefore，Making major changes to the way book publishing works，If open access，The stakes and concerns involved cannot be underestimated。Many publishers take conservative measures to respond to the growth of open access，If you rely on the book processing fee model，Charge high advances from authors or their funders to publish open access scholarly books。This allows publishers to circumvent the impact of declining physical sales resulting from the move to open access，But it brings a huge financial burden to the authors and funders。Given the importance of book publishing to researchers’ careers and their fields of study，It’s no wonder researchers are often anxious about book processing fees。For this，An important change is underway in open access publishing，Developing a model that allows both authors and readers to pay nothing，This model is called “Diamond Open Access”。Barnes introduced，Open Book Publishing operates to cover the costs of open access in three ways: sales of paperback and hardcover physical books；The library participates in the publisher’s membership program，Pay a smaller annual fee to support their work；The author uses the grant money received to fund the publisher (this is not mandatory)，Many institutions have made similar practical attempts。

"Green Open Access" refers to，Authors place their manuscripts in a repository Bet365 lotto review for all to read，The version provided by the publisher is paid。In Barnes’ opinion，This model is not suitable for academic book publishing，This is also a major difference between book publishing and academic journal publishing。Compared to journal publishing，Publishers want to make books more popular with readers，Need to coordinate and organize the content in the book，Complete the editing work，At the same time，There are also a lot of illustrations in the book，Some images may not be included in the manuscript submitted by the author。Auxiliary tools to help readers read books，such as index or detailed internal cross-reference information，Also usually done by the publisher’s editor。

Stern thinks，Compared to journal articles，Academic books usually provide more comprehensive and in-depth analysis，Covers a wider range of topics，Provide rich background introduction、Method application and topic discussion content。In other words，Many monographs have continued to show relevance to other results over the years，Multiple papers derived from it。Compared to journal articles，It takes longer to write and publish a book，More details are also involved，Relevant personnel are required to continue their efforts over a longer time span。The average number of pages in a monograph may be 250-300 pages，Many monographs exceed 1000 pages，It can describe culture in great detail、History and area studies document and preserve knowledge，Otherwise this knowledge may be ignored。Many monographs written in native languages，Long length、Specific disciplines and other characteristics，Together they reflect the diversity of books，Making the task of finding peer review reviewers particularly challenging for publishers，They need to put a lot of effort into this part of the publishing process。This is very different from journal publishing。Meanwhile，The peer review process of a book is very critical，It depends on the scholars who undertake the review task to put in a lot of effort and time。The collaboration between the author and editor is also very important to the language shaping and overall structure of a book，The latter consists of many parts including multimedia content。In Art、Humanities、Social Science Subjects，Monographs remain common as a form of research output，The writing of a monograph itself is part of the research process，This is also special。

　　Open publishing progress is uneven

As a field of practice，Open access academic books have been around for a relatively short time，But it has also achieved a certain degree of influence。According to Barnes，In the UK，People are in the process of transitioning to open access academic books。Currently，Open access remains an add-on feature，Not the default for academic book publishing。However，Policy-making bodies such as UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and its subsidiary Research England have to some extent implemented policies that require research funded by them to be published in open access format，Includes results published in book form。Open Books Press is deeply involved in communities such as the Community-led Open Publishing Infrastructure for Monographs (COPIM)，These communities are receiving considerable financial support，To develop infrastructure to support open access scholarly book publishing。Meanwhile，More and more publishers are realizing，They need to develop new models to facilitate the publishing of open access academic books，Instead of just charging high fees to authors。Currently，The PALOMERA Project, funded bet365 best casino games by the EU, is investigating the strengths and weaknesses of European open access academic book policies，And explore what needs to be done to address this challenge。

Barnes said，There are signs，The shift to open access models is starting to happen across Europe，However，Progress in this area remains uneven。Publishers are still trying to find more effective methods，Libraries are also exploring how to evaluate and support new open access scholarly book models。In a changing environment，What kind of responsibility does the author have for himself、It’s often unclear what options are available。Faced with this situation，Barnes emphasizes，She believes and hopes that the exploration of open access academic books will not end here，But gradually gaining more support。She also said，The Open Access Books Network, which is involved in the coordination work, is interested in strengthening ties with Chinese colleagues。Currently，This platform is running the Around the World with Open Access Book Network blog，Introducing open access books from different countries，Written in the writer’s preferred language，An additional English translation is presented。

Stern thinks，The increasing popularity of academic works has made access to global academic resources more convenient。For example，There are now over 80,000 peer-reviewed books indexed in the open access catalogue，5 years ago, this value was only about 20,000。This growth is a stable trend，Fifteen years ago，When the OAPEN Library was established as a non-profit independent distribution system connecting publishers and libraries，Open access to books is still very rare。Today，Regardless of whether it is a commercial publication，Most book publishers offer open access services to varying degrees。There are some research findings，Open access books tend to have higher citation and utilization rates，Indicates that this type of book has a higher degree of participation and influence。"The Open Syllabus Project" shown，Open access academic books are increasingly included in course syllabi and reading lists，For educational purposes。So，Open access academic books are becoming valuable teaching materials，They are available to students and educators around the world without financial constraints。

Stern estimates，In the future when people are more aware of the benefits of open access publishing，More authors and institutions will adopt this model。However，A stronger push may come from research funding agencies and academic institutions，They are formulating relevant policies and strategies。To investigate the European policy landscape，The “Policy Coherence of Open Access Monographs in the European Research Area” project team publishes evidence-based recommendations to all stakeholders，And help research funders strengthen capacity building around the implementation of policies for open access academic books。Stern thinks，Upgraded digital tools and platforms will improve accessibility of open access scholarly books、Discoverability and Availability。In addition，Increased emphasis on multilingualism，Will help expand the reach and impact of open access academic books in non-English speaking regions。

Yves said，He is not sure that the current number of open access academic books is enough to convince people，It has had a significant impact。He predicted，A series of new business models will emerge in the future to replace book processing fees，This will help open access scholarly books become more widely accepted。

The process of academic book publishing is relatively Bet365 lotto review slow，Deville pointed out，From the author signing the contract to the final publication of the book，Often takes 3 years or more，This means the full impact of his and his colleagues’ work may not be noticed for some time to come。However，People have noticed the positive signs。Example，UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the UK’s main research funder, has launched a new funding mechanism，Universities can use these mechanisms to support the operation of new funding models。In addition，Consultation on the policy on “mandating open access” for long-form research publications from major UK institutions is also ongoing，Many relevant people have put forward their opinions on this。If this policy is in effect，Institutions will need to make most long-form research results open access，Although some results may not be open access immediately after publication。In his opinion，This is at least a sign，Shows that the issue of how to open up access to long-form research in the public interest is getting high-level attention。Such progress and ongoing efforts to promote open access，There has been some impact on the perception of researchers and smaller publishers committed to open access。Dwyer is optimistic，In the long run，More researchers will submit their work to such publishers，The number of open access academic books published by them will also grow further。He also mentioned，I would like to know what colleagues working in China think about this issue，Because he strongly supports the development of bibliographic diversity in open access book publishing，Support different types of publishing organizations in different country backgrounds、Promoting open access in different language environments。

　　Experts are cautiously optimistic

The interviewed scholars agreed that，It is not advisable to be blindly optimistic about the development of open access academic books，Need special attention to prevent risks、Meeting challenges。Proposed by Stern，One，The open access model can sometimes be mistakenly associated with low quality。In the description of OAPEN open access books，Explained why open access as a publishing model has no relationship with the quality of published content。Because，The staff needs to spend a lot of work to ensure that the quality of the books is included。The Open Access Book Catalog has also developed the Monograph Peer Review Information Services (PRISM) platform，Enabling publishers to share how they practice the peer review process。The goal of increasing process transparency is to increase trust and improve publication quality。Part 2，Open access publishing and the infrastructure that supports it may lack sustained funding。Leave open infrastructure support，Open access academic book publishing is unsustainable。Continued funding needs for non-profit open infrastructure，Requires his organization to spend a lot of effort raising funds，This time could have been used to better improve services、Bring more benefits to libraries and academic communities。However，so far，To ensure that the infrastructure services provided are available and reliable，Raising funds remains an important task。That’s the only way，Only so that the majority of users only need to connect to the Internet，You can read books anywhere in the world，Free from cost or other barriers。

According to Barnes，There are two risks that require special attention。First，The book processing fee model is still not easy to shake，Part of the reason is that it is difficult bet365 best casino games to expect policymakers to fund a Diamond OA model when they usually tend to fund specific books。If you want the book processing fee alternative to be successful，Could not do without financial support from funders and libraries，This involves a difficult problem - too many institutions will choose to wait and see。Secondly，If mandatory requirements are used to urge behavior change，And not putting enough effort into convincing authors of the benefits of open access to academic books，Also a risk。Barnes said，Her Open Books publisher is an open access publisher，It is also a publishing house led by scholars，The origin of the establishment is that the two leaders of the society were scholars，Hope to take more initiative in publishing work。If the field of open access scholarly books becomes overly reliant on mandates，Possible risk of undermining author agency。

De Vere thinks，The issue of open access academic books involves considerable risks。Example，Compared to the profits generated by large commercial publishing operations，The open book model raises a negligible amount of money。The profit margins of the former come largely from monetizing the work of academics working at institutions that receive public funding，Some scholars have objections to this，Dwyer also acknowledges this doubt。In recent years，People also see，Some commercial publishers acquire the infrastructure needed to fund and publish open access scholarly books。One risk is，If this monopolistic business behavior is accelerated，May be given to non-profit、Adverse impact of community-led work。In Deville’s opinion，The latter’s work is of great significance to the future prosperity of open access academic book publishing。

Discussing the challenges facing open access academic books，Ive also mentioned the issue of book processing fees。He thinks，If you continue to charge this fee，There will be a risk that some authors and institutions will be excluded from the publishing process because they cannot afford the costs。Of course，This is not inevitable，One can also take advantage of other available modes。But in a traditional academic context，This concern still persists。