The University of California Press recently announced Collabra and Luminos, two new open access programs for journal and monograph publishing. Aligned with UC Press’s mission to build reach and impact for transformative scholarship, the programs expand publishing options for scholarly authors and researchers, make it easier for readers to find and use content, and share the monetary value generated from publishing across the academic community. Both Collabra and Luminos launch with a distinguished group of advisory board members, editors, authors, and reviewers from universities and associations around the globe.
The mega journal Collabra is based on an innovative model designed to share value generated from publishing an article among editors and reviewers who contribute to its success. Instead of retaining all funds generated from author article processing charges (APCs), UC Press directly compensates reviewers and editors for their work on the journal; reviewers and editors can then opt to pass these earnings on to an APC waiver fund that benefits other authors or to their institution’s open access fund.
At launch, Collabra will focus on three broad disciplinary areas: life and biomedical sciences, ecology and environmental science, and social and behavioural sciences. UC Press is lining up an international team of field experts for the editorial board, including, among others, Erica Fleishman, Research Scientist, Department of Environmental Science and Policy and John Muir Institute of the Environment, University of California, Davis; Maryann Martone, who is also Co-Director, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) and Executive Director of FORCE11; and Rolf
A. Zwaan, Professor, Department of Psychology, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
With Luminos, UC Press is taking steps to ensure the longevity of monographic publishing while adhering to the same exacting editorial standards for which it has been known for more than 120 years. This entails combining the best of OA and digital publishing with UC Press’s rigorous selection and editorial processes to create a wholly new approach to sustainable and affordable monograph publishing.
For authors whose traditional monographs have been relegated to sales of just a few hundred, an open access model offers the potential to exponentially increase the discoverability and readership of their work. UC Press’s model also supports rich multimedia content—essential in order to keep pace with new digital modes of scholarship.
Luminos shares the cost burden of publishing in manageable amounts across the academic community. For each title, UC Press makes a significant contribution, augmented by membership funds from supporting libraries. Authors will then be asked to secure a title publication fee to cover the remaining costs. Additional revenue from supporting libraries and print sales will help to support an author waiver fund.
To ensure the program continues to evolve as OA and the needs of the scholarly community change, UC Press has established an advisory board that represents the interests of many monograph audiences. These include: Wendy Chun, Brown University; Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Modern Language Association and New York University; Faye Ginsburg, New York University; David Theo Goldberg, University of California, Irvine; Christopher M. Kelty, University of California, Los Angeles; Todd Presner, University of California, Los Angeles; and MacKenzie Smith, University of California, Davis.
