In partnership with ten Big Ten-affiliated university presses, the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s Center for Library Programs announces the expansion of the Big Ten Open Books project with the rolling publication of the next three 100-book collections: African- Asian- and Hispanic Americans, Health Disparities and Disability Culture, and Human Environmental Impact. Big Ten Open Books creates ebook collections that aspire to the highest standards of discoverability, accessibility, durability, and flexibility.

The university presses partnering on these collections (University of Illinois Press, Indiana University Press, University of Michigan Press, Michigan State University Press, University of Minnesota Press, Northwestern University Press, The Ohio State University Press, Penn State University Press, Purdue University Press, and the University of Wisconsin Press) previously published these high-quality scholarly works in print. We are now making them available online and open access - free to read and reuse at no cost - on a rolling basis as they are sponsored. Each title has undergone a rigorous selection and quality certification process that allows readers and users of this collection to trust the content's veracity. Making these works openly available allows them to have tremendous impact through global engagement and knowledge sharing. 

The three newest Big Ten Open Books collections will explore a wide range of experiences and issues:

• African- Asian- and Hispanic American Experiences brings together books on ethnicity, politics, and culture, examining how these experiences have shaped American society and expression across generations.

• Health Disparities and Disability Culture explores disability, chronic illness, mental health, reproductive rights, and medical advances through personal, cultural, and policy perspectives.

• Human Environmental Impact examines conservation, sustainability, and ecological ethics, spanning environmental policy and activism, agriculture, urban life, and the ripple of art and literature in shaping environmental awareness.
  
  

The Big Ten Open Books project has established a distinctive model for unified, open access 

publishing of scholarly monographs. It creates open content that is immediately and universally 

available on open infrastructure (the Fulcrum platform, hosted by the University of Michigan Library) using open distribution models (including Project MUSE, JSTOR, OAPEN, and The Palace Project from Lyrasis). It envisions a robust programmatic future for open monograph publishing. Funding for this collection has been provided by sponsorships from the libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, the libraries of the University of California system, and many other libraries across the United States. Additional sponsorship opportunities remain available for libraries and organizations interested in joining this effort to make more scholarly books openly available to readers everywhere.  

According to the Big Ten Open Books book analytics dashboard, individual books and chapters have been downloaded almost 2,000,000 times across 226 countries. So far, around 250 authors have benefited from the extra reach open access provides, with their books finding a second life with a broader audience. Many users have shared their appreciation, sometimes expressing emotional reactions to the lifelong learning opportunities that the participating presses and supporting libraries enable. 

The Big Ten Academic Alliance continues its advocacy for a sustainable and open publishing

ecosystem. Collectively, the institutions have invested significantly in our capacity to further the research mission by advancing public knowledge through open publishing. 

About the Big Ten Academic Alliance

The Big Ten Academic Alliance is the nation’s preeminent model for effective collaboration  among research universities. For decades, these world-class institutions have advanced their academic missions, generated unique opportunities for students and faculty, and served the common good by sharing expertise, leveraging campus resources, and collaborating on innovative programs. Governed and funded by the provosts of the member universities, Big Ten Academic Alliance mandates are coordinated by a staff from its Champaign, Illinois headquarters. The nineteen world-class libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance include Indiana University, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, RutgersUniversity, University of California Los Angeles, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, University of Iowa, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Oregon, University of Southern California, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the University of Chicago.

Contact

Kate McCready, Program Director for Open Publishing

Big Ten Academic Alliance

612-626-4357

kate.mccready@btaa.org