Open Access Publishing: University of California Press Publishes First Monographs in Luminos, Announces Inaugural Luminos Member Libraries

From the U. of California Press:

Today, we are happy to announce the culmination of the launch phase of an important new concept in monograph publishing, with the first five scholarly monographs open to the world, many more titles to come, and the first of our inaugural Luminos Member Libraries ready to support the transformation of monograph publishing.
“As an author writing about mass violence in the global south, I was intrigued by the option of making my insights available to broad publics, including in countries where, for a variety of reasons, paper copies cannot be as easily ordered as in Europe or North America,” notes Joachim Savelsberg, author of the new Luminos title Representing Mass Violence: Conflicting Responses to Human Rights Violations in Darfur.
Authors have been eager to publish in the Luminos program not only because it guarantees the same standards of excellence as all of UC Press’s programs, but also because of the opportunity to bring their work to the larger, global audiences that open access provides. As co-author Manuel Pastor has stated regarding their decision to publish Equity, Growth, and Community: What the Nation Can Learn from America’s Metro Areas in Luminos, rather than in a more traditional format, “we have long valued our role as public intellectuals who are willing and indeed, eager, to bring ideas into the messy real world and participate in the debates that change lives—and this model is perfectly suited to that sort of effort. Moreover, the central messages of our book—that equity and opportunity are key for sustainable growth, that cross-sector conversations can bring new common ground, and that data deliberations in knowledge communities can forge productive solutions—are all really reflected in the open-access model Luminos is helping to pioneer. It’s a perfect fit for us and we’re proud to be part of this launch.
Institutions of higher education have long advocated for open access responses to changes in scholarly communication as well as to the challenges they face meeting the ever-expanding information needs of their students, researchers, and faculty.
In response, Luminos helps broaden access to scholarly content, and injects some much-needed sustainability into monograph publishing by sharing cost burdens across stakeholders. For each title published, UC Press makes a significant financial contribution, which is augmented by membership funds from Luminos Member Libraries. Each author is then asked to secure a title publication fee to cover the remaining costs. Any additional revenue from Luminos Member Libraries, as well as funds from optional purchase of print editions, help support a waiver fund for future Luminos authors. Together, this shared financial support helps ensure a sustainable monograph publishing ecosystem for authors, readers, institutions, libraries, and UC Press.
UC Press is proud to have the dedicated support of inaugural Luminos Member Libraries including University of Texas at Austin; University of California, Los Angeles; and University of California, San Diego.
According to UCLA’s University Librarian, Virginia Steel,  “Market forces have made it increasingly difficult for faculty, particularly early career, to publish scholarly monographs. As one solution to that problem, the UCLA Library strongly supports Luminos, which expands options for authors and increases discoverability and readership of published research, while maintaining rigorous academic publishing standards.”
“As a non-profit publisher, partner with scholars, and part of the world’s greatest public research university, we are committed to maximizing the reach and impact of the scholarship we publish” said Alison Mudditt, Director of UC Press. “UC Press is a leader in exploring how this important and distinctive vehicle for communication in the humanities and social sciences can not only be preserved but also reinvigorated as we move towards open, digital models, and we are proud of the resounding support for Luminos we have seen from authors, faculty, and from librarians around the world.”

Direct to Luminos Web Site
See Also: New Open Access Publishing Programs: University of California Press Formally Launches Collabra and Luminos (January 20, 2015)

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