Lancaster University Library has been announced as one of three winners of the Open Library of Humanities Open Access Award 2024.

The Open Library of Humanities (OLH) Open Access Award is awarded to organisations and individuals in recognition of their commitment to Open Access. Each winner receives a fund dedicated to promoting the benefits and impact of Open Access to humanities scholars and disciplines, and to knowledge worldwide. The funding has been awarded to the Library in recognition of our commitment to supporting Lancaster Researchers to publish Open Access books and will allow us to further our work in this area.

The fundamental principle underlying Open Access is that research should be freely available to the public with no restrictions on who can download and view it. Open Access books are made openly available online to anyone with an internet connection, which increases the opportunities for research to be read, discussed, and cited. They have the potential to reach wider and more diverse audiences who might lack the resources to purchase them otherwise.

Lancaster University Library aims to facilitate a Research Culture in which Open Access Book publishing is part of normal, everyday practice. The library has previously focused on developing its infrastructure and workflows to make it possible and make it easy for authors to publish Open Access monographs.

This includes developing the Trailblazers Early Career publishing initiative in collaboration with Liverpool University Press, the University of Liverpool and the University of Salford and its involvement as a partner in the Open Book Futures Project.

Over the coming 12 months, the library will focus on working closely with its research community to normalise open access book publishing. To achieve this, the library will use the funding provided by the OLH Open Access award to organize a series of book launch events for Lancaster University authors who have published Open Access books.

"We are extremely grateful to have received this Open Access Award from the Open Library of Humanities. The fund will allow us to celebrate the successes of our Lancaster authors who have published their books Open Access, whilst also raising the profile of OA book publishing amongst our wider academic community over the next 12 months" - Andrew Barker, Director of Library Services