On the 5th of November, the Diamond Open Access Expertise Center, part of the program Strengthening Diamond Open Access in the Netherlands, organized a webinar about Diamond Open Access (OA) book publishing. The event brought to discussion different but complementary perspectives towards making Diamond OA book publishing a reality in the rapidly evolving and challenging scholarly communication landscape. These were perspectives from the Netherlands University Presses, a collaborative association of Diamond OA university presses across the Netherlands; Open Book Publishers, an international Diamond OA publisher; and a well-established senior researcher in Philosophy, Prof. Dr. Ingrid Robeyns, who has published several Diamond OA books.
Open Access book publishing landscape
The landscape of book publishing is inherently more complex than that of journal articles. Unlike journal articles, which tend to be shorter and fit within rapid publication cycles, books are long-form works that require careful planning, significant investment, and a more extensive production process. Books serve a wide range of purposes, from monographs and edited volumes to textbooks, with each format addressing the needs of diverse academic disciplines, audiences, and cultural contexts.
This diversity highlights the broad spectrum of scholarly content across various fields and languages, contributing to a multilingual academic landscape. However, while the ecosystem of book publishing is rich, the policies supporting open access for books are still underdeveloped. No single OA model has yet emerged as dominant, and the future of OA book publishing remains a mix of traditional practices, market forces, and innovative alternatives.
Among these alternatives, Diamond Open Access stands out as a particularly equitable model. It addresses the often prohibitive costs associated with Open Access publishing by removing publication fees for both authors and readers. This makes it a “no-fee” model, grounded in principles of collaboration, inclusivity, and sustainability in scholarly publishing.
Netherlands University Presses
The Netherlands University Presses (NUPs) are a great example of how Diamond Open Access (OA) can work on a large scale. These university presses are united by the belief that academic publishing should be accessible to everyone. Their approach is grounded in equity and aims to remove financial barriers for both authors and readers while ensuring that the quality of publishing remains high and sustainable.
One of the most important features of the NUPs model is the no-fee principle. Authors don’t have to pay to publish, and readers can access books for free. This makes the whole publishing process much more inclusive, giving authors the chance to share their work without worrying about costly fees. Plus, authors keep the copyright to their books, meaning they maintain control over how their work is used and shared.
But the NUPs aren’t just about keeping things free—they also care about diversity in what they publish. They produce a wide range of academic works, from journals, monographs and edited volumes to textbooks. The NUPs cover a wide variety of topics and fields, making an effort to embrace multilingualism principles, as well as consider topics that might not find a home with larger publishers. This focus on bibliodiversity ensures that a broader range of knowledge is accessible to the academic community.
The NUPs network includes presses from universities such as Maastricht University Press, Open Press Tilburg University, Radboud University Press, TU Delft Open Publishing, University of Groningen Press, and Leiden University Press (which is still working toward full alignment). By teaming up, these presses are helping reshape academic publishing in the Netherlands—and potentially, in the wider global context.
The NUPs were created with a shared vision: to provide an alternative to traditional, profit-driven publishing models. These presses are library-based, which means they are deeply rooted in the academic community, and their main goal is to support authors, not to make a profit. That means they are able to offer a more author-friendly, sustainable publishing model.
There are challenges, of course. One of the biggest obstacles is raising awareness of the Diamond OA model and its long-term sustainability, both within the Netherlands and beyond. To meet this challenge, NUPs are focusing on building stronger national and international partnerships, increasing institutional support, and finding ways to make their publishing infrastructure even more efficient. As they work to develop a shared platform for Diamond OA publishing, their goal is to build a model that is both innovative and sustainable.
Open Book Publishers
While the NUPs are doing impressive work in the Netherlands, Open Book Publishers (OBP) has been leading the way on the international stage. OBP is a scholar-led, non-profit publisher that follows the Diamond OA model, making academic books freely available to everyone. By not charging authors or readers, OBP shows that it’s possible to run a sustainable publishing house while remaining committed to the core principles of equity and community.
Unlike traditional publishers, OBP doesn’t rely on big sales or expensive subscription fees. Instead, they’ve found ways to cover their costs through print sales, title grants, donations from authors, and library memberships. This unique funding model allows OBP to keep their books open and accessible to readers, without sacrificing quality or sustainability.
At the heart of OBP’s success is its community-driven approach. In the publishing world, “community-driven” can be a buzzword, but OBP has stayed true to this concept by being transparent about its governance model. They make sure that their decisions reflect the needs and values of the academic community they serve. This transparency has earned OBP the trust of scholars and researchers around the world.
OBP doesn’t work alone. It collaborates with other important initiatives like ScholarLed and COPIM to help build a strong, global network for Diamond OA publishing. They also work closely with groups like the Open Access Book Network, which helps raise awareness and advocate for Diamond OA in the academic world, and have contributed to the OAPEN OA Books toolkit, recently relaunched, which is a great tool that aims to help authors to better understand OA book publishing and to increase trust in OA books.
An author’s experience
Hearing from an author who has actually published through Diamond OA is invaluable, and Prof. Dr. Ingrid Robeyns, a senior philosopher, shared her experience during the webinar. In 2020, she wrote a blog post about why she chose to publish with Open Book Publishers (OBP) and what the process was like.
For Prof. Robeyns, the decision to publish with OBP was partly based on their scholar-led and non-profit structure, which aligned with her values. She was particularly drawn to OBP’s mission, which is summed up in their motto: “knowledge is for sharing.” By publishing her book Open Access, she was able to reach a wider audience and make a greater societal impact. Open Access also allowed her work to be more equitable, as anyone with an internet connection could access it.
In terms of the publishing process, Prof. Robeyns noted that it didn’t feel much different from working with traditional publishers. Her book went through all the necessary steps—peer review, editing, and so on—ensuring that it met the same high standards. But there were also advantages. She had more control over the book, especially in terms of the title and cover design. She also appreciated how much faster the process was compared to traditional publishers, which is important when you’ve already spent years writing the book and are eager to get it out there.
Of course, there are some challenges with publishing through a smaller, Diamond OA press. Prestige can be an issue, especially for early-career researchers who may worry about the reputation of less-established publishers. But as more well-known scholars like Prof. Robeyns publish with these presses, it helps raise their visibility and build the reputation of Diamond OA publishing as a whole.
Working together towards diamond open access
The insights shared during the webinar highlight the growing potential of Diamond Open Access as an alternative to traditional academic publishing models. By eliminating financial barriers for both authors and readers, Diamond OA makes scholarly work more accessible and equitable. However, making this model the norm will require a collective effort. Collaboration across institutions, publishers, libraries, and researchers is essential for building the infrastructure needed to sustain and scale Diamond OA in the long term.
A key player in this movement is the Diamond Open Access Expertise Center, which organized the webinar as part of the Strengthening Diamond Open Access in the Netherlands program. The center is working to build awareness, provide resources, and support collaboration across the academic community. By facilitating events like this webinar, they are helping to create a stronger network of Diamond OA advocates and practitioners, both locally and internationally.
The NUPs are tackling significant challenges, including raising awareness and ensuring long-term sustainability. A key point raised during the webinar was the question of whether OA for books has already gained enough momentum. Some participants pointed out that while Diamond OA book publishing has seen growth, infrastructure and financing remain major hurdles. As prof. Robeyns noted, there are still gaps in the incentives for researchers to choose OA publishing over traditional models. These challenges are not unique to the Netherlands but are seen across the global OA landscape.
As we look ahead, building a sustainable model for Diamond OA publishing will require collaboration on multiple fronts. Participants in the webinar emphasized the importance of strengthening partnerships, not only within the academic community but also with libraries, researchers, and other publishing initiatives. The challenges of funding, infrastructure, and visibility remain, but through continued dialogue, innovation and most important, collaboration, Diamond OA has the potential to reshape scholarly publishing for the better. The webinar highlighted the importance of collective effort to overcome these hurdles and ensure the long-term success of Diamond OA as an equitable alternative to traditional publishing.
