Successful model to be continued for an additional three years

Brooklyn, NY, January 23, 2020: Hailed as the largest concerted disciplinary journals flip to open access since SCOAP3, Berghahn Books will take the step of publishing thirteen core anthropology journals as open access starting with their 2020 volumes under the subscribe-to-open model (S2O).

The availability of multiple models is paramount to maintaining a diverse, dynamic, and enterprising publishing ecosystem. Based on librarian curation, existing resources, and proven processes for supporting journals, a subscribe-to-open model is now emerging that makes financing sustainable open access more attainable, especially for smaller journals in the social sciences and humanities.

Managing Director, Vivian Berghahn, said, “We have been emboldened to take this significant step, thanks not only to the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from the library community, who regard this approach as a progressive model worthy of support, but by the anthropology researcher community itself, who have mobilized as a discipline to endorse the pilot as a means for realizing a more equitable and globally inclusive solution for open access publishing.”

Participating libraries include open access pioneers who have shown their support for the pilot by subscribing to the entire collection, with other libraries affirming their backing when renewing subscriptions at the select title level. In adopting the model, many librarians are continuing to underwrite the journals their faculty has always endorsed, with other librarians drawn to a model that allows all readers and authors to benefit from open access alongside those in their own institution.

Libraria’s Alberto Corsín Jiménez, Department of Social Anthropology, Spanish National Research Council, commented: “At Libraria, we have been working hard to build open access environments that are equitable, sustainable, and inclusive. The Berghahn Open Anthro pilot is an audacious and innovative project that leads the way in showing what a responsible partnership between researchers, libraries, and publishers can accomplish. It marks a milestone in anthropology's ongoing commitment to make its research available to indigenous communities and the public.”

Curtis Brundy of Iowa State University Library adds: “The Berghahn Open Anthro pilot is one of the most exciting initiatives underway at this critical moment for open access. It is exciting because it originated from anthropologists who want to see their discipline’s literature open. And it is exciting because Berghahn Books listened and responded with a cooperative model that will not only make its 13 anthropology journals open, but can serve as a model and inspiration to move all of the field’s journals to open. This pilot and collaboration will advance openness and deserves wide support.”

S2O was initiated by Annual Reviews. The BOA adaptation was conceived and implemented in partnership with Libraria.

Berghahn Books is also working closely with Knowledge Unlatched in introducing the model to libraries across the spectrum.

Full details on the Berghahn Open Anthro initiative, including the list of participating libraries, can be found here.

About Berghahn Books: Founded in 1994, Berghahn Books is an independent publisher of scholarly books and journals in the humanities and social sciences. A peer-review, mission-driven press, Berghahn is committed to the highest academic standards and seeks to enable innovative contributions to the scholarship in its fields of specialty. www.berghahnbooks.com Contact: Vivian Berghahn, Managing Director: vivian.berghahn@berghahnbooks.com.

About Libraria: Established in 2015, Libraria is a collective of researchers based in the social sciences who, drawing on the expertise of librarians, publishers, and other stakeholders, seek to bring about a more open, diverse, community-controlled scholarly communication system. Libraria has since evolved into a consulting and advocacy network that aims to convene informed conversations and catalyze demonstration projects. www.libraria.cc Contact: Alberto Corsín Jiménez, Spanish National Research Council: alberto.corsin-jimenez@cchs.csic.es.

About Knowledge Unlatched (KU): KU offers every reader worldwide free access to scholarly content. The online platform enables libraries worldwide to centralize their support for Open Access models from leading publishers and new initiatives in favor of Open Access. Contact: Philipp Hess, Publicity & Communications: philipp@knowledgeunlatched.org