Trailblazers is a new Open Access (OA) initiative for the rising stars of their disciplines. Built on collaboration and knowledge-sharing between the libraries of Lancaster University, University of Liverpool, University of Salford, and the distinguished publisher Liverpool University Press, Trailblazers combines Open Access book publication, to maximise the opportunity for impact from early career research, with a series of author boot camps, which will equip Early Career Researchers with the knowledge and skills to support the publication of their work throughout their careers.

Selected Early Career Researchers will experience a transparent publication process, undergoing proposal and manuscript peer review, editorial guidance from senior commissioning editors, as well as professional copy-editing, typesetting, and marketing, concluding in the publication of an open access edition of their work. A series of masterclasses by publishing and library professionals will cover everything from how to write a proposal and turn research into a book, right through to how to index and what alt-text means, plus invaluable guidance on marketing, library collection management, research metrics, and how an open access monograph will benefit your research career.

By sharing knowledge from the publisher and library perspectives, the trailblazing Early Career Researchers selected for this programme will have a unique opportunity to truly understand the publishing process, while at the same time reaching the widest possible audience for their work.

Please visit the Library's Trailblazers webpage for more information about the scheme.

The Lancaster University iteration of the scheme is led by the Library Open Research Team. The Open Research team work in partnership with Lancaster Researchers by developing initiatives such as Trailblazers and providing services, systems, resources and training to help you achieve your research goals and enable Open Research.

Open Research (used interchangeably with Open Science) champions the idea that scholarly and scientific knowledge (and data) should be shared as freely as possible and as early as possible in the research process across all disciplines, both within and beyond academia. By aiding the development of open research skills and practices through initiatives such as Trailblazers, we are working towards more reproducible, accessible and rigorous research.