JSTOR has announced that Path to Open, its community‑supported open access monograph program, will continue as an ongoing initiative following the completion of its three‑year pilot phase. Launched in October 2023 to test whether a collaborative model could sustainably scale open access for humanities and social sciences monographs, the program now includes nearly 300 libraries, more than 50 university presses and scholarly publishers, and is expected to reach 1,000 titles by the end of 2026.
The program’s design includes the annual selection of 300 new titles, library support through licensing payments that provide access for up to three years before titles become openly available, and per‑title payments to presses to sustain monograph publishing without requiring authors or institutions to pay processing charges.
Early results from the first 100 Path to Open titles, published in 2023 and released openly in January 2026, show significant growth in usage. In the three months following open release, item requests increased by more than 440% compared to the prior year, while access expanded from 228 to over 2,000 institutions and from 12 to nearly 160 countries. These outcomes highlight global demand for peer‑reviewed scholarship.
Feedback from libraries and publishers indicates that the program delivers value relative to investment and aligns with publishing strategies. While perspectives differ on the timing of open release—some supporting the licensed access period as a mechanism for sustainability, others preferring shorter embargoes—the model continues to balance financial viability with expanded access.
Path to Open also emphasizes bibliodiversity, supporting a wide range of disciplines and publishers. Titles span more than 60 subject areas, and 42 of 49 participating presses increased their open access output as a result of the program, with eight publishing open access for the first time.
For authors, the program extends the reach of specialized scholarship. Philip P. Arnold, Professor of Religion at Syracuse University, noted that open access enables broader engagement with his work on Indigenous values, which has already reached readers in 48 countries since becoming openly available in 2026, compared to six countries during its licensed period.
As Path to Open enters its next phase, JSTOR plans to expand participation, grow the pipeline of titles, and continue refining the model in collaboration with libraries and publishers to support a sustainable and inclusive future for open access monograph publishing.
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