DOAB and OAPEN jointly selected for second funding cycle SCOSS

The Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services (SCOSS) has selected OAPEN and DOAB for its second funding cycle.

SCOSS is appealing to institutions invested in open access and Open Science - academic institutions and their libraries, research institutes, funding organisations, national and regional governments, international organisations, learned societies and service providers to consider helping support one or more of the selected services through a three-year commitment.

SCOSS was formed in early 2017 with the purpose of providing a new coordinated cost-sharing framework for enabling the broader OA and OS community to support the non-commercial services on which it depends. In its pilot funding cycle, more than 1.5 million euros have been pledged by more than 200 institutions worldwide to help secure the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and SHERPA Ro/MEO. Apart from OAPEN and DOAB, the second funding cycle includes the Public Knowledge Project (PKP) and OpenCitations. More information can be found here: www.scoss.org

SCOSS encourages supporting both DOAB and OAPEN since they are closely interlinked and share the same goal to support the transition to OA books and to increase trust in OA book publishing.

Why has it been deemed essential infrastructure?

As more institutions, funders, and disciplines support or mandate open access monographs, infrastructure that supports monograph publishing becomes crucial. Sustainable platforms and models that support the humanities and social sciences are an essential component of supporting a vision of open science that is inclusive of all disciplines. The OAPEN network and DOAB service have proven their worth over time and SCOSS can now help them on the road to more sustainability.

DOAB (The Directory of Open Access Books), explained:

DOAB is a digital directory of peer-reviewed open access books and open access book publishers. The primary aim of the service is to increase discoverability of OA books so that they can reach a broader audience. DOAB harvests books’ metadata, which is used to maximise dissemination, visibility and impact. Aggregators can integrate this metadata into their commercial services while libraries can do the same into their online catalogues, making it easier for scholars and students to discover the works. The directory is open to all publishers of academic, peer-reviewed books that are published open access and that meet academic standards. All publishers included in DOAB are screened for their peer review procedures and licensing policies.

OAPEN (Open Access Publishing in European Networks), explained:

While DOAB is a directory that provides links to OA books, the OAPEN Library is a repository of freely accessible academic books. OAPEN works with publishers and research funders to continue building a quality-controlled collection of open access books and provides services for publishers, libraries and research funders in the areas of deposit, quality assurance, metadata enhancement, dissemination and digital preservation.

How you can help

You can contribute by committing to help fund DOAB and OAPEN. SCOSS recommends that you pledge an annual donation for a period of three years, as shown in the table below, in which funding levels vary according to the size and type of the organisation. Your pledge can either be paid in one lump sum (up-front), or on an annual basis.

Financial transactions will be made directly with OAPEN Foundation. You can contact Niels Stern, who will handle the contribution, at stern[@]oapen.org

Contribution levels

  • Large organisations from high-income countries would contribute 4,000 euros annually for a period of 3 years.
  • Small organisations from high-income countries would contribute 2,000 euros annually for a period of 3 years.
  • Funding organisations would contribute 8,000 euros annually for a period of 3 years.
  • National governments and international organisations would contribute 5,000 euros annually for a period of 3 years.
  • Organisations from low- and middle-income countries, small not-for-profit organisations with annual budgets of less than one million euros, and other organisations with low incomes would contribute 500 euros per year for 3 years.

A 25% discount will be deducted from the individual contributions made by members of consortia of 10 or more organisations.

SCOSS flyer

Download the SCOSS flyer

More information

For more information, please consult the SCOSS website or contact Niels Stern at stern[@]oapen.org