FAQs

Why is Open Access necessary?
Academic books are expensive. In the UK, they currently retail at an average of around £50 meaning that, for the most part, only well-endowed university libraries can afford to buy them. A great deal of valuable research is therefore unavailable to most readers, with students in developing countries being particularly disadvantaged. Open Access means that everyone, everywhere can have the same access to quality educational material.

If my book is Open Access does that mean it can more easily be plagiarised?
No. All the same rules of plagiarism apply to Open Access books.

Does an Open Access book count towards the RAE/REF assessments for UK research?
Yes. A book published by us is seen as exactly the same as a non-Open Access book.

Are your books peer reviewed?
Yes. All our books go through an extremely rigorous review process, and are peer reviewed by at least two experts in the field at both the proposal and manuscript stage.

Why do you charge for your PDFs when you are committed to Open Access?
We need to charge a small fee for our PDFs to offset our production costs. We are a non-profit company and charge very little for our printed books, so PDFs are a vital revenue source to help us keep our books affordable and free online. All our books are free to read in their entirety on Google Books.

How do you keep your prices so low?
The internet has revolutionised the way publishers can operate. We use print-on-demand technology, which means we have no wasted print runs. All our staff work in a ‘virtual’ office, which keeps our overhead costs down. We have a network of volunteers who generously give their time, and we have been assisted along the way by donations from individuals and grant-giving bodies who support our Open Access mission.

What does the future hold for Open Book Publishers?
We envisage a world in which all research is freely available to all readers. As well as continuing to publish our high-quality academic books, we are starting to help journals move to an Open Access model. Ultimately, we are moving towards becoming the primary UK Open Access hub for peer-reviewed research in the Humanities and Social Sciences.