MIT University Press Announces Direct to Open Project for Sustainable Publishing and Access of Academic Books

Academic books published by university presses are quite expensive, and many students and researchers borrow and read what they have purchased from university libraries. In order to realize sustainable publication and access of such academic books, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) affiliated university press,

The University Press is an organization that belongs to a university and publishes academic books, many of which are non-profit. Books published by the university press are very specialized, and we sometimes publish books based on dissertations.

It is rare for the general reader to buy a book published by a university press, and most of the published copies are purchased by university libraries and research institutes. The price of scholarly books tends to be very expensive due to the small circulation, but until the mid-1990s, many university presses in the United States sold 1,500 to 1,700 books per title for publication and distribution, according to MIT Press. It was said that it was able to cover the cost related to.

However, in recent years, the number of sales has dropped significantly, and at the time of writing the article, it seems that only about 300 to 500 books can be sold per title. MIT Press states that university presses continue to publish scholarly books, with funding from various support organizations and charities, even in the face of a deficit each time they are published.

To support scholarly publishing in difficult times and to fulfill its central publishing mission of curating and disseminating expertise, MIT Press has announced a new framework called 'Direct to Open.' Direct to Open is said to be aimed at moving from a market-based model in which individual libraries purchase a single scholarly book to a model in which libraries support publishing.

Libraries participating in Direct to Open publish on Direct to Open by regularly paying a 'program entry fee' calculated based on the size and budget of the library, rather than purchasing published books. It is a mechanism to access academic books that have been published.

Since 2022, new scholarly books and edited collections published by MIT Press will be published on the Direct to Open platform, including classic masterpieces such as Richard Feynman , Rosalind Klaus , Umberto Eco and Nome Chomski. Access rights to the title will also be granted.

'Direct to Open works together with libraries and publishers to publish high-quality professional and academic books outside the market model,' said Amy Brand, director of MIT Press. And comment. In addition, Chris Bourg, director of the MIT Library, who participated as a special sponsor of Direct to Open, said, 'The MIT Library can support the Direct to Open approach aimed at publishing academic books and making them available to all. I'm happy. '