Open Access Transformation of E-Book Packages in Political Science

 

Building on the successful pilot project transcript Open Library Politikwissenschaft in 2018, developed together with the Nationalen Open-Access-Kontaktpunkt OA2020-DE, we are pleased to announce the new new collection for 2020 frontlist titles in political science from transcript. The pledging period for the new collection transcript Open Library Politikwissenschaft 2020 has now started and libraries have until 30th November 2019 to pledge their support to the new package. By investing in the initiative your institution will be one of the enablers of the Political Science Frontlist 2020 from transcript.

 

 

Eliminating Paywalls for Full Subject Collections


Best Practice OA can only be possible if the revenue generated by eBook sales can be adequately covered by an OA model. With most current financing models (“author pays”) the transformation towards Open Access remains on a single title level. With a “consortial model” or “Open Access package model” however a far wider transformation is possible, due to the sharing of costs amongst the stakeholders (the Open Library Community). Hence the costs per participant are far lower than for individual titles and full subject collections can be made available at a viable price point.


From Acquisitions to Enabling


Following the established example of “eBook Packages” we have created a full collection of frontlist titles (i.e. all of the new titles planned for a particular timeframe) within the subject of Political Science. However instead of purchasing a licence to access the content, participating libraries help to make content available Open Access by making a financial contribution to the overall costs. Library funds are therefore used to help make content freely available for all users, rather than just purchasing paywalled content for the library’s own users.


The transcript Open Library Politikwissenschaft 2020 in a Nutshell:

 

The transcript Open Library Politikwissenschaft:
in a nutshell

  • 22 new titles
  • International and European politics
  • Globalization
  • Parties, Social Movement and Civil Society
  • Policy
  • Politics
  • Political Theory and Polity
Click here for detailed information on the content

Key Features

  • High quality of content and renowned reputation of authors
  • Comparatively low title output meaning modest costs
  • Positive usage of content in libraries
  • • OA-savvy authors, meaning high acceptance of the project by authors
  • • The scientific dialogue surrounding the transcript Political Science titles is mainly held in German language hence the content of the new titles is also mainly in German. The public funding therefore benefits first and foremost the German language scientfic community

Professional distribution supported by Knowledge Unlatched

  • Hosting on OAPEN, HathiTrust and JSTOR and ORL
  • Publication with Creative Commons licensing
  • Obligatory copies sent to the German National Library (DNB)
  • Long-term archiving at Portico
  • DOI registration on single chapter level
  • Inclusion in discovery systems such as DOAB, GoogleScholar, ProQuest
  • Provision of MARC records from OCLC

Why join?

  • Help make frontlist content available Open Access
  • Collaborate with other libraries and the German “FID”
  • Costs for Open Access monographs are shared between libraries and “FID”
  • Fees for eBook licences saved can be re-channelled to fund Open Access
  • Thanks to the "Crowdfunding" model, the title fee is fixed - the more institutions that participate, the lower the cost per institution
  • Co-financing institutions (sponsors) are entitled to receive one free print copy of the titles in the package upon request.

  • Emphasis on their own role as sponsors of Open Access for monographs
  • Sponsors are included in the book/website e.g. with the institutional logo, thus further enhancing their visibility and reputation
  • Active participation in a sustainable publication model
  • Enhanced role for libraries as “enablers”
  • Easy access for researchers and students, even without a VPN (DRM free)
  • Greater dissemination of content worldwide
  • No restrictions on the use and provision of Open Access publications in teaching (digital semester materials etc.)
  • Contents benefit further research work without any restrictions and can be "activated" for teaching (in-document discussions).
  • Long-term, reliable, comprehensible and funding-compliant Open Access publication channels
  • Transparency in title selection and calculation
  • Pledging Options

     
    We require a minimum of 30 participating libraries in order to achieve the goal of making 22 frontlist books in 2020 available Open Access. The maximum pledging price is calculated on the basis of a minimum of 30 participants. The actual pledging amount will depend on the number of participants confirmed at the end of the pledging period and will decrease with each new pledge from 30 onwards. If the minimum level of 30 libraries is not reached, then no frontlist titles will be made available OA and no library will be charged. NEW: you will be able to check out the current level of participation and the current price on the website www.transcript-verlag.de.
     

     

    Sponsoring Light


    As in the pilot project smaller institutions and Universities of Applied Sciences can take advantage of this option in order to be able to participate at half of the usual pledging price. These institutions will only be listed as „enablers“ in the overview of participants and can of course choose to pledge at the full amount if they prefer.


    NEW: Microsponsoring


    In this round we have introduced a new option in order to be able to allow small institutions such as arts and music schools, specialist institutions, parliamentary and legal libraries to participate even though they would not normally purchase (m)any Political Science books, but who nonetheless wish to show their support for Open Access models. The “Microsponsoring“ model allows such libraries to pledge their support at an amount of their choosing as long as it is over €300 (around € 13.63 per title) and the amount can only count towards the total once the minimum participation level has been reached. Participants at this level do not have the right to receive free print copies and are only listed as “enablers” by name, not logo.


    Practicalities


    You can also direct queries and pledges to our trade partners Dietmar Dreier, Missing Link and Schweitzer Fachinformationen
    The pledging period is now open and will remain open until 30th November 2019. Early invoicing is possible upon request. Should the final pledging amount be lower than that on the early invoice, then the difference will, of course, be credited to you after the close of the pledging period.
     

     
     
     

     

    If you have any other questions, please contact us, we are happy to help!