From: Colin Steele <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wed, May 16, 2018 at 7:00 PM
Only 15 years of course, after the foundation of the open access ANU Press,
but of course it was in the southern hemisphere!. Best Colin
·
*Announcing LSE Press – a new open access publishing platform for the
social sciences
<http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2018/05/16/announcing-lse-press-a-new-open-access-publishing-platform-for-the-social-sciences/>*
*LSE Press launches today, the latest in a succession of new university
press initiatives and one that will support the development of
high-quality, academic-led, open access publications in the social
sciences. Kieran Booluck provides details of the first LSE Press journal
and outlines plans for the press to pursue more innovative publications and
experiment with new types of content.*
Today marks the official launch of LSE Press <https://press.lse.ac.uk/>,
the School’s new open access publishing platform. LSE Press will provide a
platform for high-quality research in the social sciences, and – in line
with LSE’s aim to lead in international, interdisciplinary, issue-oriented
social science – will support the launch and development of academic-led
publications that are innovative in their format, content, and reach. The
Press platform is provided in partnership with Ubiquity Press
<https://www.ubiquitypress.com/>.
Speaking ahead of the launch event later today, LSE’s Pro Director for
Research, Professor Julia Black
<http://www.lse.ac.uk/law/people/academic-staff/julia-black> said: “We’re
really excited to launch this new platform to publish high-quality social
science research. The LSE Press has arrived at an important time for
academic publishing, as the open access policy landscape shifts to include
books as well as journal articles. Support for our authors has been a
priority for the LSE Library for a number of years, and the Press will
improve the publishing options available to social scientists”.
LSE Press is just the latest in a succession of new university press
<http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2017/09/20/taking-back-control-the-new-university-and-academic-presses-that-are-re-envisioning-scholarly-publishing/>
initiatives. UCL Press <http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press>, the UK’s first
fully open access university press, has published a strong programme of
monographs and edited collections since starting in 2015, and earlier this
year announced plans to launch its own megajournal
<http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0118/ucl-launches-open-access-megajournal>.
Others, such as the University of Huddersfield Press
<http://unipress.hud.ac.uk/about,us/>, established in 2010, have been
publishing a little longer, while more recently launched examples
include Goldsmiths
Press <https://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-press/> and White Rose University
Press <https://universitypress.whiterose.ac.uk/>, a cooperative endeavour
run jointly by the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York. The progress
of this “new wave” of university presses and library publishing ventures
was charted by Janneke Adema and Graham Stone in last year’s Jisc
report, “Changing
publishing ecologies: A landscape study of new university presses and
academic-led publishing
<http://repository.jisc.ac.uk/6666/1/Changing-publishing-ecologies-report.pdf>”.
What many of these new presses have in common is that they are open access,
library-based, and “often offer a smaller set of services than a
traditional publisher, blurring the line between publisher and platform”.
Indeed, dissatisfaction with traditional academic publishing has been a
significant motivating factor in the emergence of so many new university
presses. The scientific publishing industry has been increasingly consolidated
among a handful of large companies
<http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0127502>,
which continue to report huge profits
<https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/it-time-nationalise-academic-publishers>
each year. The Jisc report highlighted university presses’ general
frustration with this commercialisation of scholarship and an ambition to
provide a genuine alternative to the existing legacy model.
The new university press model is intended to work for its research
communities first and foremost, and in doing so provides opportunities for
a university to showcase its own academics’ work. LSE Press launches with
its first publication, the *Journal of Illicit Economies and Development*
<https://jied.lse.ac.uk/>, led by researchers in the School’s International
Drugs Policy Unit
<http://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/international-drug-policy>. This new
title will offer research and policy commentary on the complex relationship
between illicit markets and development. For Editor-in-Chief Dr John Collins
<http://www.lse.ac.uk/United-States/People/john-collins>, publishing open
access was a key part of his vision for the journal’s success: “This new
journal, the first of its kind globally, will go a long way towards
disseminating the complex research and policy evaluation needed for
policymakers and civil society going forward. Further, through enabling the
journal to function as a broad open access platform the LSE Press is
enabling broad engagement beyond traditional academic silos and providing a
genuine source and outlet for scholars from all parts of the globe”.
The first volume of the new journal will be funded by the School, with
authors not being required to pay article processing charges during this
initial 12-month period. LSE is exploring funding models and has made funds
available to support new publications during the start-up phase. It is an
aim of LSE Press to make open access publishing a sustainable option for
the social sciences.
In addition to journals, LSE Press intends to publish a range of book
publications, including more traditional research monographs, short-form
monographs, and even textbooks. Again, offering authors viable open access
routes to publication is of increased importance here, in response to a
changing policy environment and the announcement by HEFCE – now Research
England – that future Research Excellence Framework assessments will extend
open access requirements to include books
<http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2017/03/07/the-starting-pistol-has-been-fired-now-is-the-time-to-heed-the-drive-towards-open-access-books/>
as well as journals.
The new university press model also offers the opportunity to pursue more
innovative publications and experiment with new types of content. In this
spirit, LSE Press will explore options for more specialised digital
publications, such as data or coding journals. Opportunities will be
extended beyond the faculty, with the possibility of student journals also
being hosted on the platform. All proposals are welcome – including from
outside of LSE – and will be considered by the School’s Research Committee,
as well as a newly formed advisory board
<https://press.lse.ac.uk/site/about/>, comprised of representatives both
from across LSE and external publishing professionals and which will
provide guidance on publications and the future direction of LSE Press.
*For further information please visit the **LSE Press*
<https://press.lse.ac.uk/>* website. You can also follow LSE Press on
Twitter **@LSEPress* <https://twitter.com/LSEPress>* or get in touch by
email: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>.*
*Note: This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of
the LSE Impact Blog, nor of the London School of Economics. Please review
our comments policy
<http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/about-the-blog/comments-policy/>
if
you have any concerns on posting a comment below.*
*About the author*
*Kieran Booluck** is editor of the LSE Impact Blog. He has a background in
higher education and academic publishing, having worked in a variety of
editorial roles. His interests are in notions of impact, the REF, public
engagement initiatives, and scholarly communications.*
---------------------------------------------
Colin Steele
Emeritus Fellow
ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
The Australian National University
Room 3.31, Beryl Rawson Building #13
Acton, ACT, 2601
Australia
P: + 61 2 6125 8983
E: [log in to unmask]
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