Knowledge Unlatched Announces the Launch of its Pilot Collection
Knowledge Unlatched is delighted to announce the launch of its Pilot Collection.
The Pilot is the first step in creating a sustainable route to open access for large numbers of scholarly books.
If at least 200 libraries from around the world sign up for the collection by 31 January 2014, 28 new Humanities and Social Sciences books will be made free for anyone in the world to read on an Open Access basis.
The Knowledge Unlatched Pilot Collection includes 28 new books from 13 recognised scholarly publishers: Amsterdam University Press, Bloomsbury Academic, Brill, Cambridge University Press, De Gruyter, Duke University Press, Edinburgh University Press, Liverpool University Press, Manchester University Press, Purdue University Press, Rutgers University Press, Temple University Press and University of Michigan Press.
The collection can be viewed at: http://collections.knowledgeunlatched.org/collection-participate-1/
Knowledge Unlatched is inviting libraries to pledge a capped maximum of US$1,680 to ‘unlatch’ the collection. This works out to an average of US$60 for each book.
Libraries can pledge their interest at: http://collections.knowledgeunlatched.org/
Pledging will remain open until 31 January 2014.
If more than 200 libraries sign up for the collection, the amount paid by each library will be adjusted down. For example, if 300 libraries sign up the average for each book becomes just US$40.
The Knowledge Unlatched model is based on libraries from around the world sharing the payment of a single ‘Title Fee’ to publishers, in return for books being made available as a fully downloadable PDF via OAPEN on a CC-BY-NC or CC-BY-NC-ND license immediately upon publication. Because the Title Fee is a fixed amount, as more libraries participate, the per-library cost of ‘unlatching’ each title declines.
Publishers have agreed to recognise additional format purchases by participating libraries as a contribution towards the cost of unlatching the Collection.
Libraries that participate in the pilot will receive a Knowledge Unlatched membership fee waiver until January 2016, usage data on the collection, and will have the right to participate in Knowledge Unlatched governance through a Collections Committee and a Library Steering Committee.
Knowledge Unlatched is also planning to establish a joint forum that brings together libraries and publishers in early 2014.
For further details contact Lucy Montgomery: lucy@knowledgeunlatched.org
