Library-led publishing - doing things differently
Hannah Whaley, Chair of the SUP Management Board and Director of Library Services at the University of Dundee, reflects on the opportunities of library-led publishing and the benefits for universities, researchers and wider society.
The University of Dundee has been a strong supporter of Scottish Universities Press (SUP) from the early proof of concept stage, recognising the potential of open access to bring positive change in the academic publishing ecosystem, while delivering benefits to wider society by enhancing the reach of research.
Libraries naturally align to supporting open research practices, knowing that this important cultural change in the research environment brings new possibilities to maximize the dissemination and reach of our publicly funded research, whilst reducing barriers for everyone to access quality, peer-reviewed information. With broad experience of working within the complexities of the traditional academic publishing model, I am a passionate advocate for change. My background in technology, business, publishing, and innovation meant the opportunity to have a hands-on role in SUP was the perfect meeting of interests.
SUP is one of the most exciting initiatives at play now, not just for SCURL, but within the Open access and library-led publishing scenes. It is also a great example of library collaboration in general.
Over the last year, SUP has advanced at pace through a demanding start-up phase, where all policies and processes had to be designed from the ground up. We are now approaching the next phase of the project, moving on to scaling up the Press, after an ongoing commitment for SUP was confirmed by all members at the SCURL AGM in June.
Before outlining next steps, it’s important to note the scale of what has already been delivered. SUP has:
created a new cost-effective model for open access publishing of monographs, offering researchers at Scottish institutions a clear route and cost-effective to publishing open access
engaged with hundreds of academics about open access from our 18 member institutions
become the largest library-led publishing collaboration in the UK
The infrastructure behind SUP can potentially deliver even greater benefit through expansion to other types of content - with textbooks, journals, and specialist content all vying for future attention.
How we are doing things is almost as interesting as what we are doing. The original remit was clear and focused: one type of publication, high-quality research, and open dissemination. The aim was not to test all waters and have a finger in every pie; it was to go from concept to publishing in two years.
With a time-limited target came the impetus to be nimble. Indeed, the slow pace of change associated with traditional publishing has been a motivator for SUP, alongside the lack of transparency. This prompted us to address fundamental questions, like:
What are the costs associated with publishing?
How can we find out true costs?
Can publishing be done differently?
Is there a way to provide better support for academics?
We concluded these questions could only be truly answered by exploring them authentically, within a structure oriented towards community benefit rather than profit.
The SUP approach has borrowed heavily from start-up culture and entrepreneurial methodology. There has been an emphasis on rapid and concurrent work, with a quarter-by-quarter focus, reported into the Management Board for fast feedback and direction setting.
The approach has been to:
use all resources available to us through our library and academic networks
commit collectively to the endeavour, including funding the start-up
investigate and learn, allowing the findings to inform direction
build partnerships to keep accelerating the possibilities
This has often resulted in options appraisals to assess the various routes open to us, with the decision then being guided by the overarching values of SUP as a not-for-profit collaborative enterprise. We’ve also factored in the longer-term perspective, with a focus on scalability as the crucial endpoint.
At this current stage, reaching the end of the two-year start-up period, we have achieved the target of being a fully formed, complete and tested entity, ready to scale.
What has also emerged at this pivotal point is a distinct SUP identity which is reflected in the approach to delivery across different work areas. There are three key characteristics of the SUP identity which run through the many conversations and decisions involved in starting the Press:
Open and transparent
Challenge the norms
Put academics at the centre
In pursuit of these aims, SUP has shown that libraries can work at scale to deliver a high-quality publishing solution, without the constraints of generating profits. This is an important and exciting outcome for the whole library sector, and a stride towards a fairer and more equitable academic publishing landscape.