Author and library outreach

Here we detail general outreach. However, direct outreach to libraries that you hope will support you is vital to spreading awareness of your scheme and gaining hew support. This section covers suggestions and templates for this sort of direct outreach. This can be done via your authors, by asking them to ask their own institution, and/or by direct library outreach. While author outreach to their own institutions can be extremely important, in our experience, direct outreach to libraries has seen the most impact.

With a model of this kind there is another consideration for library outreach; where there is a clear distinction, do you contact the scholarly communications librarian who may oversee an OA budget, or do you contact the subject librarian relevant to the backlist package you are offering? I.e., are you asking them to invest directly in an open access initiative with a backlist as a sweetener, or are you asking them to purchase books for their collection, with funds that will go towards open access? Ideally you would contact both. Both approaches are outlined below.

 

Outreach to former and current authors

Outreach to backlist authors

Authors who have published with the press are likely to be among the keenest to ensure its future prosperity. Authors who have previously published with the Press are, therefore, a key outreach point for institutional contact. That said, it is by no means guaranteed that these authors will understand the Opening the Future model or, indeed, have any knowledge of open access publishing in general. There is, for example, no guarantee that authors have heard of book processing charges or arguments why BPCs are not the best way to fund OA books. However, authors can present a very compelling case to the library about possibly avoiding future BPCs if the library pays a much smaller fee to contribute to flipping your Press’ frontlist. 

Emails to these individuals should:

  1. For our template email to authors, click here 👉 Template outreach email to authors
  2. For our template email for your authors to send to their libraries, click here 👉 Template outreach email from authors to libraries
Outreach to frontlist authors

The degree of enthusiasm for open access varies hugely between authors. Nonetheless, frontlist authors who are convinced of the merits of OA make for powerful allies. Writing to authors in this category is particularly efficacious, when a work is in production or under contract, as they will often be keen to help the Press to thrive.

Many of the same principles apply as in the above outreach to backlist authors section, except that the relationship here is likely to be warmer and more active. The key is to do as much work on behalf of the academic as possible so that it is easy for them to write to their librarian.

Outreach to open access or scholarly communications librarians

Open access librarians are often extremely savvy and well versed in new models for open access. Given the affordability of Opening the Future and the fact that scholarly communications budgets are often being cut back, this initiative offers a powerful and affordable way for institutions to signal their support for open access books, even when they do not have a great deal of available funding.

One potential point of confusion for this group is that they may misconstrue Opening the Future as a read-and-publish or transformative agreement. That is, they may erroneously believe that they are paying for their authors to publish openly with the press. Communication with librarians in this group must stress the novelty of the approach and that the aim is to reach the entire frontlist becoming OA, thereby avoiding the need for hybrid interim measures.

One of the aims of models like OtF is to try to uncouple the link between a university (library) paying a fee so its own researchers can publish openly. Instead the model endeavours to encourage universities to sustain presses that they value, and that publish work in relevant fields: if BPC-free models like OtF are successful then any authors (including their own) who come to those presses with a book proposal will be able to publish OA.

Key elements of outreach to OA/Schol Comm librarians include:

In order to find OA librarians who may be sympathetic to a scheme of this sort, there are a few options. One is to research which libraries are participating in other similar collective funding models, or who have advocated for them strongly in forums such as OA webinars or via Jiscmail such as:

For a template based on our own outreach to open access / scholarly communications librarians please click here 👉 Template direct outreach to OA or scholarly communications librarians

Outreach to acquisitions/collection librarians and using Worldcat data

One of the core goals of the Opening the Future model is to shift from a bifurcated environment where acquisitions budgets are used to buy books, while scholarly communications budgets are used to fund OA, into a more holistic environment in which all acquisitions expenditure contributes to making content open for all. However, at time of writing that shift in library budgets is still a long way off from happening, and outreach needs to take account of this. 

When 'selling' the benefits of the Opening the Future model to acquisitions librarians, the focus should be on the unique content that is delivered to each participating library (the backlist). Institutions will often want to see a teaching need for the title or whether faculty have requested a purchase, which can be challenging to demonstrate. Demand-driven acquisition paradigms have also instilled a false belief in the sustainability of on-demand access. 

Various data sources, such as Worldcat or Open Syllabus, can help to make the case to acquisitions librarians, although the data can be read in different ways by different institutions. For instance, if Worldcat data indicate that a library has previously purchased every title from a press, some libraries will see this as a good indication that they should join the Opening the Future model as it represents a cheaper way to acquire all new books. Others, though, may question why they should subscribe when they already have all the titles. Hence, data are never neutral and require contextualisation for each library.

In order to find relevant acquisitions/collection librarians, you can use Worldcat or Open Syllabus data, or you can purchase access to subject librarian contact lists from reputable marketers. Alternatively, you can research which universities have a heavy teaching or research focus in the subject you are offering. You may already have strong links to libraries via your current sales activities. 

For a generic template based on our own outreach to acquisitions / collections librarians please click here 👉 Template direct outreach to acquisitions librarians.docx

Library consortia

Approaching library consortia can be a powerful way to generate multi-library signups and quickly gain many members. CEU Press and Liverpool UP have received important financial support from consortia during our project.

That said, there are a number of aspects to bear in mind with consortial groups:

Consortia have their own timeframes for applications, as well as different application processes. Some may be appropriate for your press. We have only had discussions with consortia in North America and Canada, which may influence our perspective. As a starting point, several US consortia are listed on the ICOLC website.