Since the release of the Finch Report and the subsequent revised Research Councils UK(RCUK) open access policy, academics, publishers and learned societies in humanities and social sciences (HSS) have been voicing their concerns. In particular, about the application and implementation of the policy and the preference for a gold model which, in the journals market, mostly relies on authors paying an article publication fee. Why is this of concern to HSS academics? Well, in HSS, the monograph is the primary method by which researchers publish and disseminate their research.  The OAPEN-UK HSS Researcher Survey examined the source of funding for research underpinning authors’ last HSS monograph and found that only 22% came from research council grants, whereas 62% came from core university funds or self-funding.

If the business model to support the publication of an open access monograph requires a fee to be paid by the author – and that author hasn’t received a research council grant – where will the funding come from and how, if a book is a lot more expensive to produce than an article, will it be affordable and sustainable?

These are some of the questions raised at a recent Jisc Collections conference exploring potential business models for HSS open access monographs. It is made even more complicated by the fact that the current business model for print and electronic monographs exists in a delicate balance. Over the last 30 years the average sales of a monograph declined from 2,000 to 200 (worldwide). Monographs are sold to libraries, but they are also sold direct to individuals. Libraries have reduced the number of monographs that they purchase because of budgetary pressures and so the costs of publishing have increased – an individual monograph can cost anywhere between £50 and £160.  This is a high price for an individual buyer. If sales and profit continue to fall, publishers may decide to stop publishing monographs – indeed, some already have. Some academics have suggested that to maintain sustainability, publishers may only publish profitable titles that have a mass market, which could leave niche areas of research out in the cold, although it should be noted that in general, monograph publishing is cross-subsidised anyway to enable niche areas or less profitable books to continue. Learned societies, in particular, often use revenue generated from journal sales and other areas to subsidise their monograph series, seeing their role as hand-holding early career academics through their first monograph.

If open access policies start to include monographs (the Wellcome Trust in May 2013 expanded its open access policy to include funding for authors of monographs and book chapters), what business model will support a vibrant HSS research environment and the wide dissemination of knowledge, and at the same time be affordable and sustainable for all the parties involved, especially those without grant funding?

There is little evidence on different open access models and so there is currently a period of experimentation. Let’s look at the business models currently being explored.

Open access PDF

The author pays a fee to the publisher to cover only the costs associated with publishing an open access PDF of the monograph, this is then available freely. The publisher is free to sell the print and other electronic formats, such as epub, Kindle edition. This model recognises that publishers will still need to produce print copies, which many academics prefer. Revenue generated through sales may support the reduction of the open access fee.

Who is exploring this model?

Two major initiatives, OAPEN-UK and OAPEN-NL, are both testing this model and collaborating with publishers to evaluate any impact of the free OA PDF on print and electronic sales and to analyse usage and citations. The initiatives also aim to identify and test what is a relevant and affordable ‘fee’ for the OA PDF based on real data collected from over 60 open access books available on the OAPEN Library.

Open access all e-formats

The author pays a fee to the publisher to release the monograph in open access in all electronic formats (including e-publications). The publisher offers print versions for sale. This model is based on the principle that all electronic versions should be open access and, while print is available to purchase for those that prefer it, assumes low print sales.

Who is exploring this model?

Palgrave is applying this model ‘Palgrave Open’ to their monographs and their Pivot titles and charges an open access publication charge of £11,000 for a monograph and £7,500 for a ‘pivot’ title. Palgrave expects that this model will mostly be used by those that have received research council funding. Palgrave Open is one of the first traditional publishers to apply the CC BY licence. Ubiquity Press, a fully open access publisher, also makes all electronic formats of the monograph available online with a print-on-demand option. Their model is based on a chapter processing charge of around £150 and a workflow to keep the production costs efficient. The profit from the print on demand is shared with the author or re-invested in new titles.

Open access HTML

The publisher makes the HTML version of the monograph available online in open access at no charge to the author. Only the HTML version is free to view online. Charges are made to download the title in various formats including PDF, e-pub and print.

Who is exploring this model?

Bloomsbury Academic provides the online HTML version for free and charges around £50 for the print/e-pub versions. Open Humanities Press collaborates with the University of Michigan Library (MPublishing) and makes use of the Public Knowledge Project Open Monograph Press software system. Scholars work on book series and act as editors, select the manuscripts and oversee the series. The monographs are then published in open access in HTML and in most cases the PDF is also freely available. Print and electronic editions are sold at reasonable prices to cover the production costs, pay author royalties and to subsidise other titles. Open Humanities Press explores new modes of publishing and peer review and leverages technology to create new forms of monographs, including their Living Books About Life series.

Open Book Publishers, who recently won the IFLA/Brill Open Access Award, also use the HTML model. It publishes the online HTML version at no charge, but asks authors to apply for publication grants from their university and elsewhere to contribute towards the costs (between £3,000 and £5,000) to help sustain their operations (the PDF is free in this case). All versions are available for download, often with modest fees such as £5 for electronic versions and £10 to £20 for print editions. By maximising on digital workflows the Open Book Publishers is able to keep the costs low but the quality high.

Crowdfunded open access

The publisher applies a crowdfunding model to hit a target price, at which point the title is released in open access in all electronic formats. This model is mostly being used to release older back list titles.

Who is exploring this model?

Open Book Publishers and De Gruyter, have been experimenting in this area in partnership with Unglue.it, a crowdfunding e-book platform. Unglue.it works with the publisher to agree a price at which a digital edition of the monograph will be released in open access.

Open Book Publishers has successfully used the crowdfunding model to ‘unglue’ two titles so far.

Freemium membership open access

In this model, the publisher or platform provider combines open access and paid-for services to generate income to give back to the content providers and to contribute to the sustainability of the platform. It is similar to the model used by Open Book Publishers and Bloomsbury Academic, where the HTML version is open access, except there is an additional membership element where members (mainly libraries) pay an annual fee which provides them with free access to all other electronic formats and makes the previously paid-for services free.  There is no charge to the author.

Who is exploring this model?

OpenEdition is one of the key providers of this model. OpenEdition works with its publisher partners (university press, private publishers and learned societies) to make available titles in open access using the freemium model. All titles are available in open access as HTML files. Libraries that become members can either acquire the PDF or e-pub versions for their members to have free access to, or they can acquire the books in all formats via individual selection, packages, subscription or perpetual access with local hosting rights. The revenue generated is shared with the publisher. This model requires no payment by the author.

Consortia open access

Libraries group together to meet the price the publisher has agreed is required to release the monograph in open access in digital formats.

Who is exploring this model?

Knowledge Unlatched is a global library consortium.  The publisher offers its book through Knowledge Unlatched and determines the title fee (the cost of publishing the first digital copy) which, upon payment, will trigger the publisher to make the title available as open access in HTML. Libraries decide which titles they wish to unlatch and contribute to the title fee – the more libraries in the consortium, the lower the cost. In addition member libraries receive additional discounts on the hardback and premium e-book versions of titles that each library chooses to ‘unlatch’. The pilot for this model is about to start. The author is not charged a fee to make their book available in open access.

The variety of models being explored reflects the recognition that funding in HSS is not straightforward, that the monograph business model is in a delicate balance and that affordability and sustainability are critical factors in any move to a gold open access environment. It’s not business as usual.