Four Ohio University Press scholarly monographs are among the first 100 books to become openly available through JSTOR’s Path to Open program, an initiative designed to transform access to high-quality academic work.
The titles include Apartheid’s Leviathan: Electricity and the Power of Technological Ambivalence; Ethnicity, Identity, and Conceptualizing Community in Indian Ocean East Africa; Research as More Than Extraction: Knowledge Production and Gender-Based Violence in African Societies; and Waterhouses: Landscapes, Housing, and the Making of Modern Lagos.
Ohio University Press joined Path to Open as part of the inaugural publisher cohort when the program launched in 2023. Under the model, Path to Open books are available exclusively to participating libraries for three years before transitioning to open access. The press currently has more than 30 titles in the system, with new open access releases occurring on a rolling basis each January.
Usage data from the first wave of titles indicates significant growth following open availability. Five weeks after becoming openly accessible, the first 100 Path to Open titles were used more than during the entire 2025 calendar year. As of mid-February, nearly 18,000 requests had been recorded, exceeding last year’s usage by nearly 20%. Readership expanded from six to 110 countries and from 252 to more than 1,090 institutions.
The initiative is positioned as supporting sustainable open access and broadening the reach of scholarly voices, including those working in fields and regions that are often underrepresented.
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