The University of Delaware Joins OLH LPS Model

We are pleased to announce that the University of Delaware has joined the Open Library of Humanities' (OLH) Library Partnership Subsidy system. With roots dating back to 1743, the University of Delaware is one of the oldest universities in the U.S. Originally founded as a seminary in New London, Pennsylvania, the school had relocated and gone through several name changes before it officially became known as the University of Delaware in 1921. Since 1950, the University’s enrollment has quadrupled, and it continues to expand by becoming a world-class Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) university. Today the University has an enrollment of almost 24,000, and consists of 10 colleges and schools and hosts 80 research centers. The University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press operates five libraries, four special collections and museum galleries, and a university press that publishes scholarly works for researchers. The library’s collection includes more than 3.5 million print books and bound periodicals as well as more than 1 million e-books and journals. In addition to this, it is a federal depository library, which means it provides free access to information from the federal government.

The Open Library of Humanities is an award-winning, academic-led, diamond open-access publisher of 28 journals based at Birkbeck, University of London. With initial funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and subsequent support from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Professor Peter Baldwin, the platform covers its costs by payments from an international library consortium rather than any author fee. This funding mechanism enables equitable open access in the humanities disciplines, with charges neither to readers nor authors. 

"The Open Library of Humanities is collectively funded by our member libraries and we wouldn't be able to operate without their generous support",  said Paula Clemente Vega Marketing Officer for the Open Library of Humanities. "Redirecting funds for the support of scholar-led diamond open access initiatives is vital for the survival of not-for-profit platforms such as OLH. It helps build an academic publishing ecosystem based on equity and on a vision of academic research as a global public good."

If you like the work that the Open Library of Humanities is doing, please consider asking your institution to support us financially. We cannot operate without our library members. More details for libraries can be found at: https://www.openlibhums.org/plugins/supporters/signup/.