Baylor Libraries join OLH LPS model

The Baylor Libraries have joined a growing number of academic institutions that seek to expand opportunities for academic publishing in the humanities through the Open Library of Humanities’ partnership subsidy system. 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 enables academics to publish in top journals by covering publishing costs through payments from an international consortium as opposed to any author fee.

“We are delighted to have the support of the Baylor Libraries as part of the partnership subsidy system,” said Paula Clemente Vega, Marketing Officer for the Open Library of Humanities. “As part of the SCELC consortium, Baylor joins 11 other institutions to support our open-access publishing platform and scholars in the humanities whose funding rarely includes enough to cover article processing charges to publish their research. It would not be possible for the OLH to exist without the help of our member institutions. With the help of the Baylor Libraries, we will continue building a non-APC open-access landscape for the humanities.”

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

In 2018, Baylor was ranked No. 20 among private institutions in research-and-development spending in the humanities in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s list of colleges with the greatest R&D spending in the humanities. Throughout the 2016 fiscal year, the Chronicle noted that Baylor invested more than $2.8 million in R&D in the humanities, which is more than 10 percent of all R&D spending at the University. Baylor historically has emphasized the importance of the arts and humanities and continues to do so through its Illuminate strategic plan.

“We are pleased to support the future of academic publishing through the Open Library of Humanities. Joining the OLH adds to the Baylor Libraries’ initiatives that encourage our faculty toward pathways of open-access publishing in high-quality, peer-reviewed journals without incurring high author-borne costs,” said Billie Peterson-Lugo, Associate Professor and Director of Digital Library Services and Systems.

About the Baylor University Libraries

The Baylor Libraries lead as an innovative research library that undergirds scholarship, fosters teaching and learning, and builds communities. Comprised of the Central Libraries and world-renowned special collections that include the Armstrong Browning Library, The Texas Collection and University Archives, The Institute for Oral History, the Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society, and the W. R. Poage Legislative Library, the Libraries drive research at Baylor University and beyond.