Kate Petherbridge, White Rose Libraries Executive Manager - University of York Dominique Walker, Publishing Officer - Scottish Universities Press This Talk will update UKSG on the establishment of a new Association for UK-based institutional publishers (‘new’ university presses, library-led publishing ventures etc) who are either fully or partly open access. We will set out why the Association is being set up, its aims and next steps in its development. Institutional publishers face specific challenges and coming together will ensure the success and continued growth of this fast-emerging new sector within scholarly publishing. We will invite input from attendees about what is needed in this space and look to raise awareness amongst those who might find membership beneficial in developing their own publishing ventures.

1. Open Institutional
Publishing Association
Introducing a new Community of Practice
Kate Petherbridge, WRUP
Dominique Walker, SUP
UKSG, 13 April 2023
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2. What is the need for an association like this?
As WRUP was setting up, there was only a very limited
community of peer presses, all very supportive of each
other, but with limited capacity to give advice. The
community is growing and becoming more established.
Growing number of University Presses - many emerging,
or small scale as in early phase of development.
Other types of institutional publishing activity, less
formal but no less relevant than University Presses.
There are other associations that not all within scope for
Open Institutional Publishing Association are eligible to
join.
Photo by Simone Secci on Unsplash

4. Photo by Daniel Cartin on Unsplash
Where have we got to?
● Initial meetings have established a draft ToR and
membership criteria.
● Work is underway to create a website to support the
activity of the association.
● We have already started work on an initial list of
potential areas of focus.
● We have created a blog post, with a bit more detail
and with a way to register interest.
The initial work done so far will be formally discussed by
the members when the association launches so everyone
can input.
We are already seeing the benefits across the initial group,
strengthening our community and relationships.

5. What will the association do?
The purpose of the association is to establish a community
of practice that will foster collaboration and knowledge-
sharing across its membership, acting as central hub for
exchanging knowledge and training by:
● Sharing resources, such as documents and templates
● Sharing publishing experiences
● Shared training opportunities
● Group marketing and attendance at conferences
● Joint funding opportunities
● Building relationships with key open access
organisations
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6. What will the association do?
● Provide a shared voice large enough to make a difference,
e.g. to national conversations on policy
● Advocate for the expertise and value of the work within
institutional open access publishing
Value for for new and emerging publishing
operations:
● Learning from established peers - guidance and advice,
range of different experiences
● Learning from best practice in policies, documentation
etc.
● Recognition of validity as publishing option
● Establishing a profile and a voice
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7. What are the next steps?
Launch website to provide more information, supported by
funding from University of London.
July 2023 - first meeting:
● Confirming Terms of Reference
● Electing formal roles
● Discussing initial priorities
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8. How to get involved
Expressions of interest can be submitted via the form on the Jisc Research blog post:
https://research.jiscinvolve.org/
To be involved from the first meeting please complete the form by 30th June 2023.

9. Thank you!
If you have questions or would like more
information, please email oipa.contact@gmail.com
Group members at UKSG:
● Kate Petherbridge, White Rose University Press
● Dominique Walker and Gillian Daly, SUP
● Paula Kennedy, University of London Press
● Philippa Grand, University of Westminster Press
● Dawn Cockcroft, University of Huddersfield
Press
● Anna Hughes, Jisc
Please come and talk to us!
Photo by Camylla Battani on Unsplash