Open Access for UC-Authored Monographs – A UC Libraries Pilot Project - Office of Scholarly Communication

"Starting in 2025, UC Libraries are supporting several projects intended to broaden access to University of California research and scholarship by making UC-authored books open access. 

Following on successful efforts to open UC-authored journal articles, these projects will enable UC authors publishing books with select university presses to choose open access at no cost to them, and will also begin opening previously published books by UC authors. 

Books opened by the projects will be freely available worldwide, extending the reach and impact of UC scholarship, especially in the humanities. In addition to being made open access at the press website, the volumes will be collected in eScholarship. Developed with the additional intention to strengthen ties between libraries and university presses, these projects will experiment with new business models for broadening access to scholarly books, with a vision to expand opportunities for libraries to support the opening of books by authors affiliated with their institutions and thus extend the life and impact of academic monographs. 

UC authors do not need to apply to these pilot programs. The Libraries and presses are working to identify eligible monographs and will contact authors if their monograph is identified as a candidate."