Framework for continuous publication of academic books published by MIT

Academic books published by university publishing bureaus are quite expensive, and many students and researchers, university libraries, borrow and read purchased items. To enable sustainable publishing and access to these academic books, MIT Press, the MIT University Press, has announced a new framework called Direct to Open.

University Press is an academic book publishing organization belonging to the university, and most of them are operated as non-profit. Books published by the University Press are professional and may publish books based on doctoral dissertations.

It is uncommon for ordinary readers to purchase books published by university press, and most of the published copies are purchased by university libraries or research institutes. The price of academic books tends to be expensive because the number of publications is small, but according to MIT Press, until the mid-1990s, many university publishing houses in the United States had to sell 1,500 to 1,700 books per book to finance publication or distribution related expenses.

However, recently, the sales volume has declined significantly, and now only about 300 to 500 books per title are sold. Even in a situation where the deficit accumulates with each publication, the reality is that university publishers continue to publish academic books by covering publication costs through subsidies from various support organizations or charitable organizations.

In order to support academic publishing in difficult situations and to realize the publishing mission of professional curators and dissemination, MIT Press has unveiled a new framework called Direct to Open. Direct2Open aims to shift from a market-based model in which individual libraries purchase an academic book, to a model in which libraries support publication.

Libraries participating in Direct to Open do not purchase published books, but pay regular fees for participation in the program, which is calculated according to the size and budget of the library.

From 2022, new academic books or edited collections published by MIT Press will be released on the Direct-to-Open platform and access will be granted. MIT Press said that Direct2Open allows libraries and publishers to collaborate to release high-quality, professional and academic books outside the market model. Related information can be found here.