Diamond open access publishing: what it is and how to do it

Open access publishing has been growing in higher education over the past few decades, but one model has recently become more prevalent in the UK: diamond open access. It's a non-profit model, which means there are no subscription fees, no article or book processing charges, and authors retain copyright over their own work.

The funding comes from institutions and collective funding models, as well as other routes. Removing these financial barriers means more equitable access for researchers and readers. Without the burden of profitability above all else, commissioners can experiment more, leading to greater bibliodiversity and multilingualism.

University presses and publishers dedicated to diamond open access include Aberdeen University Press and University of Westminster Press, as well as those who incorporate diamond open access alongside other open access models, including LSE Press, Scottish Universities Press and University of London Press. The growing strength and demand for diamond open access is in no small part down to the championing and hard work of these presses and publishers.

The role of libraries

Perhaps the largest growth in the UK landscape has been the emergence of library publishing programmes, which offer hosting and publishing services for their academics' diamond access books and journals.

Library publishing initiatives include Edinburgh Diamond (at The University of Edinburgh), Liverpool John Moores University Open Journals and the University of St Andrews Journal Hosting Service.

Generally, library publishing programmes are offered free of charge and differ from traditional publishers in that they mainly provide technical infrastructure and publishing guidance - they don't usually assist with the submission, review or production workflows.

Having said that, the amount of publishing services a library publishing programme offers depends on available resources and funding. Institutional presses and library publishers also offer additional value as institutional partners in open research more broadly, working with university open research teams on training and ensuring open is embedded at all stages of the research life cycle, including FAIR data, participatory research and open educational resources.

Where to go to get started

The growth and strength of open access, and of diamond in particular, is bolstered by the recent emergence of UK-based membership groups and collectives. We founded the Open Institutional Publishing Association (OIPA) to connect and encourage small to medium-sized university presses and university-affiliated publishing operations, creating a community of practice for open access. Members of OIPA benefit from shared resources, networking opportunities, skills development sessions, a lively support system and more.

Another prominent initiative is the Open Journals Collective, a group of academics, libraries, presses and publishers, who raise collective investment for academic-led journals through libraries and funders. They have already launched 278 journals and raised £1.97m.

In a similar vein is the Open Books Collective, a charity that provides support for open access publishers and aims to foster the infrastructure that can enable open access publishing on smaller to medium-sized scales.

Both initiatives achieve their goals through collective funding models, designed to ensure the journals and books being published by participating presses are high-quality, accessible and sustainable.

In Scotland, Open Community Hosting is a community-governed group that provides shared technical infrastructure at cost to Scottish institutions, supporting and empowering the development of multiple diamond open access publishing programmes.

More internationally, the European Diamond Capacity Hub provides services for diamond open access publishers, service providers and technology providers. Through a registry, forum, task forces, tools and more, the collective brings together an international community working towards community-led publishing.

Overall, community-led collaborative groups help diamond open access publishing scale sustainably through shared infrastructure, peer support and collective advocacy. At a time when university budgets are tight and funding is being cut, this is more important than ever.

The growth of diamond open access is indicative of an equitable publishing future that focuses on quality over profit. If you're looking to launch your own press or library publishing programme, look at existing infrastructure, such as institutional repositories; reach out to OIPA to provide guidance and connect people working in the same space; and look into collective funding models such as OJC and OBC. Together, we can sustainably scale diamond open access into a sparkling future.

Rebecca Wojturska is open access publishing officer at Edinburgh Diamond (The University of Edinburgh) and co-vice-chair of Open Institutional Publishing Association.

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