Planning is underway for the formation of an Open Access Book Network. The idea emerged at a Knowledge Exchange event held in Brussels which was itself a follow-up of the previously published landscape study.
The concept is to develop a sustainable knowledge network across Europe that could help accelerate innovation in the OA book publishing industry.
“We were imagining a European network that would serve the OA books community, providing a means to coordinate initiatives among countries and enabling innovation and more rapid progress with OA books. … With such a network, we could more sustainably feed an OA book watch or OA policy watch that monitors developments in specific areas and provides recommendations for further development to the OA community and its funders.”
(SPARC Europe Director Vanessa Proudman)
Among the challenges discussed was the fact that numerous Open Science networks already exist and that it is vital any new network does not duplicate efforts. Conversations are ongoing to explore how the Network will be developed.
Community members interested in joining the conversation online are invited to express their interest via email to info@sparceurope.org.
Source: STM Publishing.