While open access to
journal articles has become very common, with 50% of articles published in 2011 available as open access, open access to books has not yet seen as much uptake at this time. However, some dedicated open-access book publishers, such as
Open Book Publishers,
Punctum Books, and others who publish both books and journals like
Open Humanities Press, have been launched. Gradually, academic publishers and university presses have also adopted an open-access monograph approach, offering this publishing option alongside journal articles. Major publishers of open-access books include, for example, Taylor & Francis, MDPI, and MIT Press. The
OAPEN (Open Access Publishing in European Networks) online library and publication platform provides access to thousands of
peer-reviewed academic books, mainly in the humanities and social sciences. The
OAPEN Foundation also provides a directory of open access works via Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB). A report released in 2015 by the UK's main funding body for research, the
Higher Education Funding Council for England, states the importance of open access monographs: "Monographs are a vitally important and distinctive vehicle for research communication, and must be sustained in any moves to open access." A 2019 survey has shown that a majority of authors agree that all future scholarly books should be made available via open access. A 2023 study found that, out of 396,995 open access books analyzed, only 19% were archived, raising concerns about the longevity and accessibility of many OA books distributed online. ==See also==