The Open Access Publishing in European Networks Foundation, commonly known as OAPEN, is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing open-access publishing for peer-reviewed scholarly books. Its primary focus lies within the humanities and social sciences, areas where open access for monographs can be particularly impactful. OAPEN provides essential infrastructure, including hosting and dissemination services, and ensures the long-term preservation
of open-access monographs and edited collections. Based in the National Library at The Hague, Netherlands, OAPEN plays a crucial role in the European research landscape, serving as the national node for the Netherlands within the European research infrastructure OPERAS.
From Project to Foundation: OAPEN's Establishment
OAPEN's journey began as a co-funded European Union project under the EU's eContentplus program. This program was designed to enhance the access and utilization of digital content across Europe. The initial OAPEN project, which ran from 2008 to 2011, had a clear objective: to investigate and promote sustainable models for open access monograph publishing specifically within Europe. This foundational project laid the groundwork for understanding the challenges and opportunities in making scholarly books openly available.
Following the successful conclusion of this initial project, the OAPEN Foundation was formally established as an independent, non-profit organization under Dutch law. This transition was critical to ensure the continuity of the work initiated by the project and to provide a permanent, robust infrastructure for open access books. The establishment of the foundation marked a significant step towards institutionalizing support for open access monographs, moving beyond a temporary project to a sustained effort.
Key Projects and Services
OAPEN manages several key projects that contribute to its mission of promoting open access books. One of its central offerings is The OAPEN Library, a global digital library designed for hosting and disseminating scholarly open access books. This library is freely accessible to users worldwide, requiring no registration, thereby removing barriers to access. It serves as a vital repository for a wide range of academic publications, making them discoverable and usable by researchers, students, and the general public.
Another significant initiative is the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB), which OAPEN developed in partnership with OpenEdition. DOAB is a free global discovery service that indexes peer-reviewed open access books, helping users find reliable and quality scholarly content. Additionally, OAPEN provides the Open Access (OA) Books Toolkit, a free resource aimed at helping authors better understand the intricacies of open access book publishing. This toolkit is designed to increase trust in open access books by providing clear guidance and information to authors navigating this evolving publishing model.
Strategic Partnerships for Broader Impact
To further its goals, OAPEN has cultivated a network of partnerships across Europe within the fields of research and scholarly communications. These collaborations are essential for expanding the reach and impact of open access books. By working with various organizations and institutions, OAPEN can leverage collective expertise and resources to strengthen the open access ecosystem. These partnerships help to integrate open access practices into broader academic frameworks, ensuring that the principles of free access and reuse become more widely adopted and supported throughout the European research community.
