Supporting learned society, subject association, and smaller specialist publishers to transition to open access book publishing (SPA OPS 4.0 project)

UKRI, in partnership with the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers
(ALPSP), the British Academy, and Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association
(OASPA), commissioned Information Power to develop independent advice and a toolkit
that can support learned society, subject association, and smaller specialist publishers to
explore a range of potential strategies and business models through which they can
transition successfully to OA. These publishers play an important role in the research and
scholarly communications ecosystem.

In order to offer a framework for helping stakeholders to make decisions and prioritize
actions and investments, a shared vision is essential. During the project we worked with
the full range of stakeholders to craft one. It sets out a clear and compelling future that
all stakeholders can aspire to. It also serves as a reference point and provides a
benchmark against which progress can be measured.

The recommendations in the report support this vision for OA books. We conclude that
change is needed from all stakeholders – funders, libraries/consortia, and supply chain
partners in addition to publishers – if OA book publishing is to scale up and be
successful. We set out recommendations for stakeholders in the Conclusion and
Recommendations section.

How to Begin the OA Transition: a guide for smaller and specialist publishers was
developed as part of our project and accompanies this report. It provides more detailed
advice and guidance for both independent publishers and those who work with larger
publishing partners.