The University of South Carolina Press and University Libraries are embarking on a new collaborative venture: Open Carolina, an open-access publishing platform.
Open access is a publication and distribution model that makes academic and professional materials such as books and articles available for free online without paywalls or other restrictions. The idea is that research, much of which is publicly funded, should be accessible to the public, inside and outside the academy. It sounds like a worthy goal, but it also comes with hidden costs for researchers – costs that the new partnership aims to address.
That’s where University Libraries enters the picture. Many ventures into open scholarly resources are planned as temporary pilot operations because they are funded by time-limited grant pools. Thanks to consistent funding from the Libraries, Open Carolina has a sustainable model that will allow scholars with limited publishing funds to share their research via the platform, partially or totally forgoing associated fees. In its inaugural year, the Libraries aim to fund four full-length books and support is in place to make the program sustainable for years to come and allow Open Carolina to grow steadily.
Open Carolina will offer opportunities to a wide range of scholars and researchers regardless of university affiliation. Proposed works will undergo the same intensive peer review and editorial processes as traditionally published books and articles, allowing the university to maintain high standards and join the conversation with other Research 1 institutions that prioritize equitable, open access publishing.
Beyond diversifying the base of authors who can publish open scholarly resources, particularly those without access to institutional subsidies, Open Carolina provides the opportunity to widen the readership of these scholars and researchers.
The increased visibility also stands to benefit the university. Open access journal articles are cited more frequently and read more frequently than those limited to paid subscribers, increasing their potential to shape thoughts and decisions from research to policy matters. A similar trend to manifest with the longer, book-length works that will form the early foundation of the program is expected.
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