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Further Logistics and Workflows

You will need to make some updates to your Press website (or host an additional website) in order to implement Opening the Future effectively. You will need at least: 


  • Pages to host the backlist package offerings. For us, this consists of a page that collates the different package offerings to give libraries who visit the page an indication of what’s on offer. 

  • Pages, linked in the one above, to the individual backlist package offer pages. 

  • These individual backlist pages contain: 

    • a description of the backlist package, 

    • the price bands for different institutions, 

    • a full list of titles in the backlist package. 

    • If possible, it is also useful to embed a downloadable Excel file with the backlist package titles and metadata for the library to use. 

    • A link to the sign up process you use. If you are hosting with Jisc and Lyrasis, this might be links directly to their subscription manager pages where they can sign up for your offering. For billing done outside of Jisc and Lyrasis, this will need to be a form of some sort that triggers a notification to your finance department, and provides them with the necessary information, which will usually be the library, the library contact, the package they have signed up for, and the library’s IP range for the backlist package host to implement. For more information, please see our page titled ‘Signup Workflow’ further on in this section.

  • A general page about the model, why you are implementing it, how it works, and the key benefits to the library and the publisher. 

  • An FAQ page of useful information for libraries and authors; we have reproduced our FAQ page in this Infohub for you to draw from. 

  • A page listing your library supporters. 

  • A page collating the list of titles you have published so far using Opening the Future and, if you can, titles that are earmarked for Opening the Future but are still forthcoming. This should contain links to access the titles, be that on OAPEN or elsewhere. 

Sign-up Workflow

Despite its seeming simplicity, the workflow for Opening the Future is relatively complex, with multiple actors involved at different times. Coordination between different parties requires care and a technological infrastructure that can handle the effort.


The workflow has to handle the following core activities:


•   Library sign up

•   Payment processing

•   Access control management

•   Library cancellation

process diagram for OtF sign up .png

Actors and Actions 

Actors Action Notes
Library Completes form on website Triggers email alerts to correct contacts at the Press and intermediaries
Jisc Collections, Lyrasis, Press Depending on the region (or on your partnerships), Jisc Collections, Lyrasis or the Press itself must process the signup. In the case of Jisc Collections, the Library may also have to complete a signup on Jisc's system instead.   If a library signs up through Jisc Collections’s independent catalogue platform, it may be necessary to duplicate the signup data into the Press’s own CRM system and OtF site.
Jisc Collections, Lyrasis, Press, Project MUSE, Other platforms The Press or intermediary (Jisc Collections, Lyrasis) informs the platform provider (e.g. Project MUSE) that access should be granted to the signup institution By default we recommend enabling access before payment is received and retracting it if not received within 3 months.
Jisc Collections, Lyrasis, Press Issue invoice to Library.
Press Send welcome email to Library. This welcome email is an opportunity to thank the library and should include:
Details of access to subscription packages
A proposed announcement of the Library’s signup (see under Marketing and Outreach)
Library Cancellation If a library cancels within the three year window, access should be revoked.

Delivery of Subscription Content

A core part of the Opening the Future model is the delivery of subscription content to participating libraries. This requires consideration of: 




• The coherence of the subscription packages. It is vital that the collections of titles exhibit both academic and commercial appeal.

• The conditions of access. It is important that the content is hosted on a reputable platform that delivers appropriate metadata in standards-compliant formats and that the content is indexed in order to appear in library discoverability services. Some platform providers, such as Project MUSE, can help to fulfil these criteria.

• The licensing. See below on SERU for the easiest path towards licensing of subscription content.

In addition, there are a number of ‘gotchas’ that must be considered for the delivery of subscription

content.

 

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