SUP Spring Update
It has been almost two months since SUP launched an open call for monographs and edited collections on 3 February and, as we head into Spring, we thought this would be a good time to provide an update on our progress. Throughout 2022 the focus was very much on setting up the Press, ensuring everything was in place to start accepting proposals for monographs. In 2023 we move into a new phase as we look to publish our first content.
Call for content
We have been delighted with the positive response to our first call for proposals. The SUP Editorial Board were able to test our internal review process for the first time and some interesting discussions arose from these initial reviews, leading us to further develop our policies on theses and previously published content.
Seven of the proposals received were approved to pass for peer review. We are now working through the SUP Peer Review Policy and Procedure, and this is an opportunity for us to make sure the process is thorough, promotes research integrity and ensures the quality of the content that we will be publishing. Peer review reports for these proposals are due back later in the spring, with an aim to make final decisions at the Editorial Board meeting in May.
Editorial Board members have been enthusiastic and supportive throughout this period, and we appreciate all their efforts. The SUP Peer Review network also continues to grow. If you are interested in becoming a reviewer for SUP, then you can register your details using this short form.
Next steps
SUP aims to provide a supportive experience for authors. We are now finalising our author guidelines for manuscript submission and production, working with our book production company. We recently spoke at the SCURL Fair Dealing Week Event where the importance of clear guidance for authors on copyright permissions was highlighted. We will work with the SCURL Copyright and Legal group to develop our copyright guidance. We also continue to customise the SUP platform along with the team at the University of Edinburgh Library, and we are scoping out our support for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) at Scottish institutions with the aim to hold a workshop later in the year.
The SUP Management Board have also been busy. They have formed several working groups to focus on key areas of development for the Press. For example, the Policy & Research group will closely monitor the policy landscape and how any changes relate to SUP, such as the upcoming announcement from UKRI on the dedicated fund to support new OA requirements for books.
Advocacy and partnerships
SUP staff will attend various conferences over the coming months. Dominique Walker and Gillian Daly will both be at the UKSG Conference in Glasgow from 13-15 April. Dominique will also present at the conference, announcing a new association for UK-based institutional publishers who are either fully or partly open access. We are also speaking about the development of SUP at the Library Publishing Forum on 10 May, and the CILIPS Conference on 5 June.
We are delighted that the COPIM team have recently been successful in gaining £5.8 million funding to further develop the infrastructures, business models, networks and resources that are needed to deliver a future for Open Access books. Gillian will present at the final COPIM conference, Scaling Small: Community-Owned Futures for Open Access Books on 20 April. We are looking forward to working with them on various projects, including the Thoth metadata management and dissemination platform.
Keep in touch
Please keep an eye on our website for future updates. Our call for monograph and edited collection proposals remains open. Please do get in touch with us if you would like to talk through a proposal, or if you have any questions.
We hope you all have great spring break!