OLH and Liverpool University Press join to flip subscription journal open access
Posted by Martin Paul Eve on 20 April 2017
We are extremely pleased to announce that the Open Library of Humanities has entered into a partnership with Liverpool University Press to convert the journal Quaker Studies from a subscription journal into a full, gold open-access journal. Quaker Studies is a highly respected inter- and multi-disciplinary peer-reviewed journal that has, according to one reviewer of the journal’s OLH application, “set the standard for this emergent field of scholarship” since its foundation in 1992. Quaker Studies is the official journal of the international Quaker Studies Research Association (QSRA), which is the umbrella organisation for all those studying, teaching, researching or connected with research into one of the areas of Quaker studies. Since 2016, the journal has been published by Liverpool University Press (LUP) on behalf of the QSRA and it is also co-sponsored by the Centre for Postgraduate Quaker Studies at Woodbrooke and the American Academy of Religion Quaker Studies Group.
Independent peer review of the journal’s application to join the OLH platform reported that Quaker Studies “attracts contributions from highly respected influential scholars of Quakerism” and has published “consistently high quality” articles that have supported a “lively, diverse… forum for establishing and testing new developments in the field.” As one reviewer put it: “Reading Quaker Studies is far and away the best way to keep up with the scholarly literature on Quakerism.”
Dr Caroline Edwards, co-founder and Editorial Director of the OLH, said of the new publishing partnership: “We’re so pleased to be able to partner with Liverpool University Press in opening up access to Quaker Studies. The journal has a prestigious history and is an essential publication within the international and highly interdisciplinary field of Quakerism. As such, the journal is of interest to a wide range of scholars working in the subject areas of aesthetics, anthropology, architecture, art, cultural studies, history, literature, peace studies, philosophy, research methodology, sociology, theology, and women’s studies.”
Professor Martin Paul Eve, a co-founder and CEO of the OLH, added: “Quaker Studies joins the International Journal of Welsh Writing in English as the second subscription journal that the Open Library of Humanities has flipped to open access via a publishing partnership with a respected UK University Press. At OLH we’re proud to be working with like-minded publishers in securing an open access future for important humanities journals that have been restricted to subscription models until now. Liverpool UP already has a fantastic track record in working towards open access and it is great to be able to play a role in the furtherance of this goal.”
Anthony Cond, Director of Liverpool University Press, said “The Open Library of Humanities is a charitable organisation seeking to maximise access to peer-reviewed scholarship, as such it is an obvious partner for university presses worldwide. Liverpool University Press is delighted to partner with OLH in extending the reach of Quaker Studies on behalf of the Quaker Studies Research Association, a move which reflects the Press’s commitment to supporting a range of models for dissemination and a tailored approach for every individual scholarly society LUP serves.”
Professor ‘Ben’ Pink Dandelion, Editor of Quaker Studies, said “This is a very exciting moment for the journal and for Quaker studies as a whole. The new arrangement will be of great benefit to scholars worldwide, in Quaker studies and in the wider humanities. It is a reflection of the quality of the journal but also the innovative thinking of Liverpool University Press and the Open Library of Humanities and their commitment to academic publishing as a means to enhance top quality scholarship.”
Liverpool University Press (LUP) is the UK’s third oldest university press, with a distinguished history of publishing exceptional research since 1899, including the work of Nobel Prize winners. LUP has rapidly expanded in recent years, winning academic publisher of the year awards from both The Bookseller and the Independent Publishers Guild. The Press now publishes 100 books a year and 28 journals, specialising in modern languages, history, classics and literary studies.
The Open Library of Humanities is an academic-led, gold open-access publisher with no author-facing charges. With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the platform covers its costs by payments from an international library consortium, rather than any kind of author fee.
Existing journals wishing to move to the platform should submit an initial enquiry to the Editorial Director, Dr Caroline Edwards at caroline.edwards@openlibhums.org. Libraries outside the US and UK interested in joining the OLH Library Partnership Subsidy model should contact Prof. Martin Paul Eve: martin.eve@openlibhums.org. UK-based libraries can join through Jisc Collections at http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Catalogue/Overview/Index/2120. US-based libraries can join through LYRASIS at https://lyrasis.openlibhums.org. European libraries can join here: http://lps.openlibhums.org/ or send an enquiry to our European Library Partnership Manager: saskia.devries@openlibhums.org.