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Publish Books Open Access: Benefits

This is the new guide on publishing open access books

High quality research published in a digital Open Access format is much more visible and can have a greater impact than if published in print or as an e-book behind a paywall. This page explains the benefits of Open Access publishing and provides links to case studies highlighting the positive experiences of researchers at the University of Reading when publishing their monographs Open Access.

Benefits Open Access for monographs (books)

Key reasons to publish your monograph Open Access

  • With print-only monograph publishing and paywalled online access, it is difficult to reach a wider audience quickly. Making your monograph Open Access has the potential to increase citations and to do this more quickly.
  • Open Access monographs will increase the profile of individual researchers. It is of benefit to early career researchers to get their work more widely read, but established researchers are also likely to benefit from an instant audience, extending international and inter-disciplinary reach, and public engagement.
  • Although there were initial concerns that making a monograph Open Access would reduce print sales, publishers confirm that Open Access can actually increase print sales. This is because most researchers prefer to read an entire monograph in print, so after sampling an Open Access monograph they may then decide to purchase it, or recommend to a library for purchase.
  • Open Access means that the copyright for the monograph can remain with the author, rather than being signed over to the publisher.

University of Reading Open Access monograph case studies

Open Access monographs by University of Reading researchers