Open Access monograph initiatives in the humanities and social sciences have shown great promise, demonstrating significant usage around the world. At the same time, creating a scalable funding model that prioritizes equity and bibliodiversity remains a formidable challenge. A group of university press directors, academic librarians, and not-for-profit partners have worked together on an initiative to produce a large-scale shift in monograph publishing. In a proposed new model, libraries could license new university press ebooks at an affordable cost; three years after publication, each title would be released openly to the world, increasing equity of access to valuable scholarly content. Our shared goal: a sustainable and equitable Open Access model that will meet the needs of authors, readers, libraries, and university presses. In this session, the presenter will share their perspectives on the Open Access landscape and lead a conversation eliciting feedback on the challenges and opportunities of this new model.

Authors are one of the most important stakeholders in the scholarly publishing landscape. Yet many struggle to fully understand the transition toward open access and how this publication option affects their scholarship and their individual careers. In this session three HSS authors with experience in open publishing across different modes–one through the TOME program for open access monographs, one through the open access journal of a scholarly society, and one through the Path to Open open access book pilot–will share their own experiences in deciding to pursue open access publication. They will address the questions and concerns they encountered along the way and provide recommendations for productive conversations with their peers. Also joining the conversation is a librarian with expertise in open access who will share experiences and offer suggestions for successful engagement with authors across disciplines.