1. brian.hole@ubiquitypress.com www.ubiquitypress.com / @ubiquitypress
Brian Hole, Founder and CEO
Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals AGM, 13 November 2013
Libraries and the future of publishing

2. brian.hole@ubiquitypress.com www.ubiquitypress.com / @ubiquitypress
To return control of publishing to university presses, providing
them with the infrastructure and support to not only match but
to outcompete the legacy publishers.
About Ubiquity Press
Background
Mission
 Spun out of University College London in 2012
 Researcher-led
 40+ years publishing experience
(BioMed Central, PLoS, Elsevier)
 Current staff of 8, office in London
 Comprehensive approach: journals,
books, data

3. brian.hole@ubiquitypress.com www.ubiquitypress.com / @ubiquitypress
• have broad subject knowledge
Libraries and publishing
Libraries and librarians
• are redefining their roles within research institutions
• are a trusted source of publishing advice
• have a strong interest in ensuring library funds are efficiently
allocated
• are well aligned with the values of open access and open
scholarship
• are focusing more and more on electronic resources and data

4. brian.hole@ubiquitypress.com www.ubiquitypress.com / @ubiquitypress
Academic publishing is going to change
 The UK has mandated open access publishing for
all state funded research, EU and US to follow
 Academic societies want open access, but worry
about losing subscription income
 Legacy publishers are unwilling and unable to lower fees, so still
very expensive (average charge £2000 per article published)
 Universities want their own presses to make
publishing more affordable and for prestige
(although it is expensive and difficult to match
the legacy publishers’ systems)
Opportunity
Challenges

5. brian.hole@ubiquitypress.com www.ubiquitypress.com / @ubiquitypress
Addressing the cost barrier

6. brian.hole@ubiquitypress.com www.ubiquitypress.com / @ubiquitypress
Addressing the cost barrier

7. brian.hole@ubiquitypress.com www.ubiquitypress.com / @ubiquitypress
Solving the problem for universities

8. brian.hole@ubiquitypress.com www.ubiquitypress.com / @ubiquitypress
Solving the problem for universities

9. brian.hole@ubiquitypress.com www.ubiquitypress.com / @ubiquitypress

10. brian.hole@ubiquitypress.com www.ubiquitypress.com / @ubiquitypress
For any questions, please contact
brian.hole@ubiquitypress.com
Ubiquity Press website: http://www.ubiquitypress.com
Koh, A. 2012. Open Access Ahoy! An Interview with Ubiquity Press. The Chronicle of
Higher Education. Available: http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/ubiquity/43312
More information