Library Requirements for Future OA Academic Book Agreements

"There are a wide variety of revenue models for open access (OA) books (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4011836). However, perhaps the most well-known is the book processing charge (BPC). However, the BPC model is unsustainable for OA books (See Eve et al. http://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.392). In 2018, Jisc warned that if the BPC model became the dominant revenue model for publishers there would be a threat to the long tail of academic book publishers, small university presses and that bibliodiversity would be threatened. The development and adoption of alternative models to the BPC are necessary to support the long tail and the diversity of AHSS research and its funding streams, but it is reliant on institutional support. There are also significant opportunities to harness the increasing number of university presses and scholar led presses alongside international infrastructure. At Jisc, we are negotiating and promoting a range of Diamond OA monograph agreements where there is no fee to read or to publish, but institutions can support the publication of immediate OA content either by leasing or purchasing paywalled backfile content or contributing to the publication fund by way of an annual membership fee.  The objective of this survey is to understand sector working practices and funding, and support for these initiatives. This will allow us to finalise our negotiation approach and devise a variety of UKRI policy compliant licensing methods...."