KU Select Book Collection

 

Making Open Access Work in Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS)

Thank you for your interest in submitting titles for the KU Select Book Collection.

If you have questions, please contact our Head of Content, Mirela Roncevic, at [email protected]

What are the title criteria and fee incentives?

General
Subjects
Publication Period
Title Fees
General

Title suggestions must have undergone peer review.


Titles must fit a listed subject and should be relevant to an international cohort of libraries.


Monographs and Edited Collections are eligible.


All online formats (ePub, PDF, and mobi) are made available under CC License types, and types are determined by publishers.


Titles are in English language and preferably published in print as hardback.


Maximum 50 submissions per publisher.


We aim to unlatch 140 titles in KU Select 2024, 20 titles per subject.


Subjects

For this year we would like to ask publishers to submit titles in the following subjects. This enables us to create a relevant and coherent collection.


No Poverty, SDG 1


Good Health and Well-being, SDG 3


Gender Equality, SDG 5


Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 8


Reduced Inequalities, SDG 10


Climate Action, SDG 13


Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, SDG 16


Publication Period

Titles must have estimated publication Oct 2023 – Dec 2024.


Titles are ineligible if they were published before or are estimated to be published after.


Title Fees

Publishers receive Net Title Fees of EUR 8,250 / USD 8,884 / GBP 7,297 per unlatched title (excl. VAT).



What's new in KU Select?

KU Select continues its focus on the SDGs

At the beginning of each year, we invite publishers to submit frontlist titles in the subjects and topics that align with the following SDGs:  

No Poverty, SDG 1 

Good Health and Well-being, SDG 3 

Gender Equality, SDG 5 

Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 8 

Reduced Inequalities, SDG 10 

Climate Action, SDG 13 

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, SDG 16 

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Knowledge Unlatched is a leading partner in making content open access, especially humanities and social sciences books, and open access is key to achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We have organized the content for KU Select in the above SDG subject packages to emphasize the value and impact of the content to supporting institutions and the world. We use the SDGs for broad subjects framing, and they can be broadly interpreted as you see fit in the context of humanities and social sciences. The SDGs are commonly agreed to provide a shared and strategic blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet now and into the future — for all of us. 


More about SDGs: SDG Goals and SDGs Publishers Compact 


Submissions

For title suggestions, only metadata is needed. Please complete the template metadata spreadsheet and email it to: [email protected] 

Following the KU Librarian Committee's review and the results of the library crowdfunding campaign, publishers with titles that have been selected for funding will be provided with further instructions.


Timeline

Title Submission: mid February–early March

Publishers submit title suggestions by completing the metadata template. 

Agreements: mid February-early March

Upon submission of title suggestions, KU provides standard agreements to Publishers for signing. 

Reviewing Titles: mid March– early April

KU Librarian Committee votes which titles to select for inclusion in KU Select. 

Packaging Titles & Addenda: early April-late April 

KU finalizes materials and title lists, getting them ready for the new library pledging cycle. Addenda (to the agreements previously finalized) are signed between Publishers and KU to confirm which titles are shortlisted for inclusion in KU Select. Note: The final list of books comprising KU Select depends on the amount of funding received by libraries who chose to participate in the pledging. 

Library Pledging: early May–mid April

Libraries worldwide are invited to pledge their support for the collections, including the legacy collectin KU Select, and new 'partner collections' (curated with publishers).

Final List of Titles Announced: January

Pledged funds are distributed across titles in accordance with the voting of the Committee. Final addenda are signed between Publishers and KU to confirm which titles are to be unlatched. 

Title Unlatching: January– December

Publishers upload files for unlatching upon publication, and no later than 31 December of the following (copyright) year.


Five Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I need to withdraw a title, or a title is delayed?

Please contact us if that happens. If a title is withdrawn, we give the spot to the highest-ranking title that did not make the initial shortlist for unlatching. Sometimes that is a title from the same publisher, sometimes from another publisher. In the event of a delay, we may have some flexibility if the delay is within reason or may withdraw it from the collection if the delay is excessive. 

How much do I receive per unlatched title?

Publishers receive the pre-agreed Title Fee for titles that unlatch, also known as the Net Title Fee. Title Fees are based on EUR because Knowledge Unlatched is a European-based entity. In KU Select 2024, a stronger USD has resulted in a USD Title Fee that is lower than the USD Title Fee in the prior KU Select 2023, whereas a weaker GBP has resulted in a GBP Title Fee that is higher than the prior year. Publishers decide which currency they want to invoice and receive fees in.

How much does Knowledge Unlatched make?

Knowledge Unlatched retains a 15% commission on all pledges and the Titles Fees are Net of those commissions. The Net Title Fee is the Net amount that publishers receive after Knowledge Unlatched has taken its commission. For illustration, if a Net Title Fee is EUR 8,250, the collective cost to pledgers is EUR 9,705.88, including the 15% commission of Knowledge Unlatched, and the publisher is paid EUR 8,250 as the pre-agreed Net Title Fee if a title is unlatched. 

How sure can I be of my title(s) being unlatched? 

In advance, we target to unlatch a certain number of titles. All titles submitted are reviewed by the KU Selection committee consisting of hundreds of librarians. The review process results in a shortlist of the ranked titles, and these are included in the pledging round. At the end of the pledging round, we confirm how many titles can be unlatched based on the funds raised from pledges. In the most recent year, we received well over 1,000 initial submissions for a target of 383 titles in KU Select and Focus collections and ended up funding the unlatching of 184 titles. With the changed SDG scope, frontlist focus, and reduced number of target titles, we expect to achieve a higher unlatching ratio for KU Select 2024. The unlatching ratio depends on the quality of the submissions, the review of the selection committee, and the support of pledgers. 

Can I sell print copies of unlatched/ open access titles? 

Yes, publishers can continue to sell print copies. Only the online versions must be made Open Access if they are unlatched. 

File links

 
 
 

If you would like to know more about KU Select, do not hesitate to contact our Head of Content, Mirela Roncevic, at [email protected]

 

Let's book it!