Open Book Publishers

Open Book Publishers (OBP) is a United Kingdom-based academic publisher specializing in open-access scholarly books. Founded in 2008 by Cambridge academics Rupert Gatti and Alessandra Tosi, the organization was established to make rigorous academic monographs and related scholarly works freely available to readers while developing sustainable alternatives to conventional commercial publishing. Its catalogue covers the humanities, social sciences, mathematics and science, and includes monographs, edited collections, critical editions and textbooks. OBP states that its books undergo peer review and that publication decisions are based on academic merit and public value rather than an author's ability to pay a mandatory publication charge. The publisher's central offering is a free digital edition of each title. Books are distributed through formats including PDF, HTML and XML on OBP's own website and through external discovery and access platforms such as Google Books, Worldreader, OpenEdition, the Directory of Open Access Books, The European Library and Europeana. Some works have also been made available in socially editable or otherwise experimental environments, including Wikiversity. The use of Worldreader has supported access through e-readers and basic mobile phones, including in developing-country contexts. OBP combines free access with paid editions and institutional support. Readers and libraries can purchase print-on-demand hardback and paperback editions, while electronic editions such as EPUB and MOBI may also be sold through the publisher and conventional retail channels. The organization encourages authors to seek grants to help cover production expenses but does not impose a universal author-side publication fee. Additional income comes from a library membership scheme, grants and donations. Any excess revenue is reinvested in publishing and infrastructure rather than distributed as conventional commercial profit. The catalogue also reflects OBP's interest in digital scholarship and enhanced books. Its publications have included works based on online databases and editions incorporating audio or video materials into the reading experience. This approach positions the publisher not only as a distributor of free academic texts but also as an experimenter in scholarly communication, multimedia publishing and digital preservation. OBP participates in several open-access initiatives. It is a partner in COPIM, a project focused on community-owned, not-for-profit infrastructure for open-access book publishing. It is also a founding member of ScholarLed, a collective of not-for-profit academic-led open-access publishers, and a founder and coordinator of the Open Access Books Network. These affiliations place the organization within the wider movement seeking sustainable, community-governed models for scholarly book publishing. By the autumn of 2021, its catalogue had reached approximately 230 books, and its model had established it as one of the largest independent open-access academic monograph publishers in the United Kingdom.

Open Book Publishers was established in 2008 by Rupert Gatti and Alessandra Tosi, both academics associated with the University of Cambridge. The organization was created as an alternative model for academic book publishing at a time when the costs and limited circulation of scholarly monographs were restricting access for researchers, students and general readers. From its beginning, OBP adopted an open-access approach in which the complete text of every book is made available online without a reading charge. William St Clair joined the organization in 2009 and became chair of its board of directors, a position he held until his death in 2021. Under its developing model, OBP combined editorial and peer-review standards associated with academic publishing with digital distribution methods designed to reduce barriers to access. Its publications span the humanities, social sciences, mathematics and science, and include monographs, edited volumes, critical editions and textbooks. OBP's digital publishing programme has extended beyond static downloadable files. Its titles have been released in PDF, HTML and XML, with distribution through the publisher's website and a range of external platforms. Worldreader has helped make selected books accessible through e-readers and basic mobile phones, while services such as OpenEdition, the Directory of Open Access Books, Google Books, Europeana and other library-oriented platforms have expanded discoverability. Some books have also used socially editable environments such as Wikiversity. These distribution choices reflect the organization's effort to treat scholarly books as reusable public knowledge rather than products limited to purchasers of physical copies. The press has also experimented with enhanced and data-linked publications. A database-derived work such as A Lexicon of Medieval Nordic Law demonstrates how a book can be connected to structured research resources. A multimedia bilingual edition of Diderot's Rameau's Nephew incorporates recorded music into the publication, showing how digital formats can add materials that would be difficult to integrate into a conventional printed volume. Alongside such experiments, print-on-demand technology has allowed OBP books to remain available in paperback and hardback editions without relying on large inventory runs. Its financial model is deliberately mixed. The full text of OBP books is generally released under Creative Commons licences, although rights in some third-party materials, including images and music, may differ. Revenue comes from sales of physical and selected electronic editions, publishing grants, library memberships, donations and other grants. Authors are not required to pay a standard publication charge, although they are encouraged to seek grants that can offset the costs of producing their books. This model allows the press to publish work from scholars whose institutions or funding bodies may not be able to support conventional publishing fees. OBP's library membership scheme gives subscribing institutions a way to support the press while receiving reader-oriented benefits. As a not-for-profit enterprise and community interest company, it reinvests surplus revenue in its publishing activities and infrastructure. Its stated rationale is that academic quality and public value, rather than an author's financial resources, should determine which projects are published. The organization has become active in broader open-access publishing networks. It is a founding member of ScholarLed, a group of not-for-profit, academic-led open-access publishers, and it founded and coordinates the Open Access Books Network. It is also a partner in COPIM, which works on community-owned infrastructure for open-access books. OBP additionally has links with organizations and projects concerned with global scholarly access, including the World Oral Literature Project and the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications. By autumn 2021, OBP had approximately 230 books in its catalogue and was described as the largest independent open-access academic monograph publisher in the United Kingdom. Its continuing significance lies in combining formal scholarly publishing, permanent free digital access, print-on-demand availability and collective infrastructure development.

• 2021

  Catalogue reaches approximately 230 books

  [1]Open Book Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  By autumn 2021, OBP's catalogue contains approximately 230 books, all available to read online without charge.

• 2021

  William St Clair dies

  [1]Open Book Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  St Clair's period as board chair ends following his death in 2021.

• 2020

  Publication of A Lexicon of Medieval Nordic Law

  [1]Open Book Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  OBP publishes a scholarly work based on online database material, illustrating its use of digital and data-linked book formats.

• 2016

  Publication of a multimedia bilingual Diderot edition

  [1]Open Book Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  OBP releases a second edition of Rameau's Nephew that integrates recorded musical material into the digital publication.

• 2015

  Publication of In the Lands of the Romanovs

  [1]Open Book Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  OBP publishes Anthony Cross's annotated bibliography, an example of its open scholarly book programme and experimentation with socially editable distribution.

• 2009

  William St Clair joins the organization

  [1]Open Book Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  William St Clair joins OBP and becomes chair of its board of directors.

• 2008

  Open Book Publishers is founded

  [1]Open Book Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  Rupert Gatti and Alessandra Tosi establish Open Book Publishers as a not-for-profit open-access academic press.

A peer-reviewed, not-for-profit open-access academic publisher that combines free digital reading editions with paid print and electronic formats, grant support, library memberships and community-owned scholarly infrastructure.

• Academic books · 2008

  Open-access academic monographs

  Peer-reviewed scholarly books across the humanities, social sciences, mathematics and science. The complete text is made available digitally under open-access terms, normally with Creative Commons licensing, while readers may also purchase print-on-demand and selected electronic editions.

• Academic books · 2008

  Edited collections and critical editions

  OBP publishes edited scholarly collections and critical editions designed for research and teaching. These works extend the press's open-access model to collaborative and source-based scholarship, with free online versions supplemented by downloadable and printed formats.

• Digital publishing

  Digital and multimedia scholarly editions

  Some OBP publications use HTML, XML, database links, audio or video to expand the conventional academic book. Examples include works connected to online research databases and editions that place recorded musical performances within the digital reading experience.

• Academic books

  Print-on-demand editions

  OBP makes many titles available as paperback and hardback books through print-on-demand production. This preserves a conventional physical-book option while reducing the need for large print runs and allowing open-access digital editions to coexist with paid retail formats.

• Ruth Finnegan republication crowdfunding campaign

  International

  OBP organized a campaign using the Unglue.it crowdfunding platform to support the republication of an out-of-print book by Ruth Finnegan. The initiative demonstrated how community funding could help return scholarly work to circulation under an open-access model.

  Outcome. The campaign is cited as an example of OBP's efforts to use collective funding to make academic works available again.

  Source

• 2008

  Adopt an open-access academic publishing modelStrategy

  Background

  OBP was created to address the restricted circulation and high access costs associated with scholarly monographs.

  Action taken

  The publisher made the full text of its books freely available online while retaining paid print and electronic editions and seeking institutional, grant and donation support.

  Aftermath

  The model developed into a mixed-revenue, not-for-profit publishing system and supported a catalogue of approximately 230 books by autumn 2021.

  Source

• Build a diversified funding and distribution modelStrategy

  Background

  Free access removes direct sales revenue from the core reading edition, requiring other ways to fund editorial, production and preservation work.

  Action taken

  OBP combined sales of print and selected electronic editions with publishing grants, a library membership scheme, donations and other grants, while reinvesting surplus revenue.

  Aftermath

  The approach enabled publication without a mandatory author publication charge and supported continued investment in open scholarly infrastructure.

  Source

• 2021

  Open Book Publishers reaches approximately 230 titles[1]Open Book Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  By autumn 2021, the publisher's catalogue contained about 230 open-access academic books, reflecting its growth as an independent scholarly press.

• 2021

  William St Clair's chairmanship ends after his death[1]Open Book Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change

  William St Clair, who had served as chair of Open Book Publishers' board since joining the organization in 2009, died in 2021.

• Open Book Publishers participates in COPIM[1]Open Book Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  OBP is identified as a partner in COPIM, an initiative developing not-for-profit, community-owned infrastructure intended to support sustainable open-access book publishing.

1. 1Open Book Publishersen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Open Book Publishers official websiteopenbookpublishers.com