Support community led open access publishing. Thursday 26 October 2023

1. Library Funding from an
Open Institutional
Publisher Perspective
PHILIPPA GRAND, PRESS MANAGER
UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER PRESS

2. Overview...
• Why presses like UWP looking for library funding
• How it’s worked for us so far
• Why this kind of funding is important to us and what it means to us
• Why libraries should support open institutional publishers
• A few thoughts on what’s needed in taking next steps...

3. University of Westminster Press
• Launched in 2015
• Publish 6 journals
• Have published 54 books - with 13 forthcoming over next 3 years
• Publish across arts, humanities and social sciences
• Exceeded 3 million views and downloads in Spring 2023
• Global reach - pretty much everywhere from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe
• Website: www.uwestminsterpress.co.uk Twitter/X: @UniWestPress

4. • Launched in 2023
• Currently 18 members from across the UK
• Website: www.oipauk.org
• Twitter/X: @oipassoc

5. UWP Sources
of Income
University QR Funds
73%
External
Funds
10%
Knowledge
Unlatched
10%
Print sales
7%

6. Why library funding schemes?
• Library funding working in other parts of the ecosystem - OLH/Scholar Led
Community, Opening the Future scheme
• Existing forms of income not ideal
• Outgrown our existing budget
• Need to diversify income streams more effectively
• Right time in UWP’s development
• Right infrastructure emerging with right kind of partners

7. Our experience so far...
• Jisc/OACF Scheme
⚬ 3 OIPA member schemes currently live on Licence
Subscriptions Manager: UWP, University of London Press and
White Rose University Press
• Open Book Collective
• Lyrasis/OACIP - for journals

8. Why are these schemes important?
• Maintain our publishing progamme in areas critical to the Press’s profile
• Build our publishing programme
• Gives us stability and sustainability
• Better helps us in being strategic, curating a high-quality programme
• Boosts our profile
• Keeps us Diamond
• Prestige and recognition

9. Why support OI publishing?
• Read our blog on 13 reasons why open institutional publishing matters:
https://oipauk.org/news-events-and-blog/blog/
• Demand outstrips supply
• ‘Openwashing’ from the commercial sector
• Values over value

10. Next steps...
• Better understanding of libraries needs/wants
• Building a movement and “recapturing the idealism
of the space we are in”

11. Thank You
Contact Information
www.uwestminsterpress.co.uk
@UniWestPress