MIT Press could shift higher education’s publishing model

"When MIT Press launched its open-access model, Direct to Open (D20), in 2021, Amy Harris had the simple hope of providing more access—and ultimately eyeballs—to the press’s books.

The model has largely done its job: A report from the press this month found that its open-access books in the humanities and social sciences were used nearly four times more often when compared to paywalled counterparts, and they received 21 percent more citations. For STEM fields, the open-access books were used nearly three times more often and received 15 percent more citations....

MIT Press is not simply converting scholarly books into a digital format; it is changing the entire business model behind producing and distributing them. Instead of libraries buying a collection of paywalled books, they fund the open-access model before publication. Universities pay a flat rate, depending on their size (the largest libraries pay roughly $83 per new, open-access title, while the smallest pay about $21).

Then, should MIT Press receive enough funding, the press publishes the collection under a digital, open-access model. If MIT Press does not receive enough funding—to cover publication, editing, marketing and more—the university presses get their money back, and the collection is published in the traditional, hardcopy format. Open-access books are available for anyone to read, versus paying a licensing fee to access the books...."