We bring together libraries from all over the world via a crowdfunding platform where they can support Open Access by selecting publisher titles at a clear and sustainable price.

KU Select 2017 now open for pledging

Find all information on KU Select 2017 here
 
 

Language Science Press open for pledging

Find all information on Language Science Press here
 
 
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Libraries

A community-driven initiative that helps to lower costs and enable wider access for peer-reviewed titles from respected publishers

 
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Publishers

Sustainable pricing to cover the cost of publishing titles Open Access, while maintaining flexibility in distribution of different formats

 
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Authors

A route to Open Access that involves no cost to authors and promotes maximising publication discovery

 
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Readers

Anyone, anywhere in the world, can discover, read and enjoy free access to full-length PDF versions of peer-reviewed scholarly books and articles

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The Knowledge Unlatched Portal

where publishers can submit and libraries can pledge.

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How it works:
1

Submit titles

Publishers submit titles that they would like to include in a KU Collection.

2

Review Titles

The Title Selection Committee, a group of acquisition librarians, reviews the submissions and provides recommendations to assure relevance, global interest and quality standards.

3

Packaging

Thematically curated packages are created based on these recommendations.

4

Library Pledging

Libraries are invited to select packages and titles to pledge their support.

5

Unlatching

If enough pledges have been received, the titles will be unlatched and made Open Access.

6

Discovery

Freely downloadable PDF and EPUB files will be made available by our partners OAPEN and HathiTrust.

450+

Libraries

70

Publishers

449

Books Unlatched

150k+

Overall Usage

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Our latest news

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  • Deeply impressed with the simplicity and elegance of the original concept, with the daring scope of the project, bringing together libraries, publishers and other organisations from around the world, and with the highly successful outcome of the pilot phase that tested the concept.
    The jury of the IFLA/Brill Award for Open Access
  • From the point of view of a participating university, Knowledge Unlatched offers the prospect of arresting the downward spiral in monograph publishing in the humanities and social sciences, providing Open Access to Humanities monograph titles, and a new model in collaboration between research institutions and publishers. It acknowledges the special problems in these disciplines, which have seen a real and challenging decline in the opportunities for scholars to be recognised through the publishing of their research, through no fault or deficiency of their own, but rather a market tension which the existing business model shows no prospect of resolving. A new business model is needed. KU offers this and it will be an exciting development in which to participate.
    Professor Tom Cochrane
    Queensland University of Technology
  • Knowledge Unlatched represents an important effort to relieve the pressure on library budgets while at the same time benefiting publishers and promoting open access. An impossible task? Not at all. Knowledge Unlatched has a sound business plan and a pragmatic strategy for success. If, as I hope, it succeeds, it will change the world of learning.’
    Professor Robert Darnton
    Harvard University Library