open access

How does open access affect the usage of scholarly books?

By: Mithu Lucraft, Head of Marketing, Outreach and Development, Open Research, Springer Nature  In previous blog posts, we have talked about the benefits of publishing a book open access (OA). But what evidence is there to support these assertions? For the journals market, where open access is now well into its second decade, there has been much analysis to show how publishing OA affects usage and citations. And whilst it is possible to draw assumptions for books looking at these studies, until now there has been little research on the OA books market. That’s why today we are delighted to … Read more…

Open Access Books: Open Access in order to…

By: Christina Emery, Marketing Manager, OA Books This week is Open Access Week, a global event that encourages the discussion of open access (OA) amongst researchers and the scholarly community. This year’s theme for OA Week asks the question, ‘Open access in order to…?’ Whilst OA is more established for journal publishing, it is still relatively new for academic books. So, from a publisher’s perspective, why does Springer Nature offer an OA option for book authors? We have been publishing OA books and chapters under our SpringerOpen and Palgrave Macmillan imprints since 2011 and just this week published our 400th OA … Read more…

We’re delivering on open access. Will you join us?

By: Steven Inchcoombe, Chief Publishing Officer at Springer Nature At the start of 2017 Open Access Week, today we’re delighted to announce that we have reached a significant milestone in advancing discovery through open research. In four European countries, over 70% of Springer Nature’s journal articles are being immediately published (gold) open access. This includes: Over 77% of corresponding authors based in the UK Over 90% of corresponding authors based in Sweden Over 84% of corresponding authors based in the Netherlands Over 73% of corresponding authors based in Austria The rise of open access as a publishing model is not … Read more…

The story of Springer’s first Open Access Book

Did you know that it has been five years since Springer launched an open access books programme? To commemorate this landmark we feature the story of our first Open Access book and the benefits of publishing Open Access.   Written by Christina Emery  A year before the official launch of its OA books programme in August 2012, Springer published its first OA book: Future Internet Assembly 2011: Achievements and Technological Promises (Editors: Domingue, J., Galis, A., Gavras, A., Zahariadis, T., Lambert, D., Cleary, F., Daras, P., Krco, S., Müller, H., Li, M.-S., Schaffers, H., Lotz, V., Alvarez, F., Stiller, B., … Read more…

Open access compliance: supporting Springer Nature authors

  By: Jessica Monaghan Meeting the open access requirements of research funders and institutions can prove a real challenge for authors. As the increase in records in the registry of OA repository mandates and policies (ROARMAP) demonstrates, the number of organisations with OA requirements is increasing every year, meaning more and more researchers are subject to such policies. OA policies can also vary widely in their requirements, leaving authors unsure or unaware of the steps required to achieve compliance. In a 2016 survey of Springer Nature authors who had published via the gold open access route, we found that 40% … Read more…