The MIT Press has successfully reached its annual funding goal for 2025 through its Direct to Open (D2O) initiative, securing open access to 80 new scholarly monographs and edited collections. These titles, covering a wide range of academic disciplines, will be released in the spring and fall publishing seasons.
Key to this milestone are new three-year commitments from the Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC) and a renewed agreement with the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA), reflecting the growing global support for the MIT Press’s open access efforts.
In its fourth year, D2O continues to gain momentum, supported by hundreds of libraries worldwide. Consortia such as the Council of Australasian University Librarians, the California Digital Library, the Canadian Research Knowledge Network, and Jisc have played a pivotal role in driving the program’s success. Long-term collaborations with library networks including Lyrasis, MOBIUS, PALCI, and others underscore the broad appeal of D2O’s sustainable framework.
Launched in 2021, Direct to Open offers a groundbreaking alternative to traditional publishing models. Unlike other open access initiatives that focus on individual titles or specific disciplines, D2O enables the MIT Press to provide embargo-free, open access to its entire catalog of scholarly books. This approach ensures equitable access for authors across all fields, including those in underfunded disciplines like the social sciences and humanities.
By shifting from a market-based purchase model to a collaborative, library-supported funding model, D2O ensures the sustainability of open access publishing. Authors benefit from increased visibility and reach for their work, while readers gain unrestricted access to high-quality academic content.
With its 2025 goals achieved, the MIT Press now turns its focus to the fifth D2O funding cycle, inviting libraries and consortia to join this transformative initiative. By continuing to expand its network of supporters, the MIT Press aims to further solidify open access as the future of academic publishing.
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