Jisc has announced that the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has agreed to make a grant of up to £550 to universities in England that participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, from December 11. This grant contribution will be used to reduce the participation fee paid by English libraries by 50 percent.
Knowledge Unlatched is an organisation dedicated to promoting open access for scholarly books. Their model uses the collective purchasing power of the world's libraries to make academic books freely available to all and they are inviting libraries from around the world to participate in a pilot to trial this new model. Libraries can participate by pledging (a maximum of) £1100 to 'unlatch' a collection of 28 humanities and social sciences books. If at least 200 libraries from around the world sign up for the collection by January 31, 2014, these books will be made free for anyone in the world to read on an open access basis.
Libraries that participate in the pilot will receive a Knowledge Unlatched membership fee waiver until January 2016, usage data on the collection and the right to participate in Knowledge Unlatched governance. As a result of HEFCE's grant, English libraries will be able to secure the benefits of participating in the Knowledge Unlatched Pilot by pledging a maximum of £550.
Jisc is managing the pledging process for UK universities and colleges and will administer grant funding for the English libraries. Full details of how to pledge can be viewed on the Jisc Collections website. Pledging will remain open until January 31, 2014.
Knowledge Unlatched is planning to establish a joint forum that brings together libraries and publishers in early 2014.
