Boston, November 8, 2023 – Paradigm Publishing Services, the newly founded publishing services division of academic publisher De Gruyter, is taking a significant stride forward in shaping a financially sustainable business model for open access book publishing for its partner presses. In response to the call from the scholarly community, Paradigm Publishing Services, comprising the University Press Library Group and Ubiquity in collaboration with their publishing partners and libraries, proudly announces the launch of the University Press Library Open (UPLO), a comprehensive open access initiative and eBook platform hosted by Ubiquity with a central focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
UPLO leverages insights gained from previous open access eBook initiatives such as TOME, Luminos, and Opening the Future while uniting the collective influence and prestige of more than 50 university press partners and over 115 participating libraries, in addition to other vital stakeholders, including consortia, aggregators, vendors, and authors. This community-driven approach enables Paradigm Publishing Services to distribute the financial responsibilities more equitably across the scholarly publishing ecosystem, ensuring the long-term sustainability of open access book publishing.
At the core of UPLO lies eBound, a not-for-profit foundation established by De Gruyter in 2022 with the mission to champion the publishing, sustainability, and accessibility of mission-driven scholarly monographs for not-for-profit and open access publishers.
The launch of both Paradigm Publishing Services and the UPLO demonstrates De Gruyter’s unwavering commitment to advancing financially sustainable publishing while fostering a sustainable future for partner presses.
Peter Potter, Vice President for Paradigm Publishing Services and Executive Director of De Gruyter eBound, remarks, “Introducing a responsible open access strategy is a natural progression for the University Press Library model. Our initial insight was to create a more predictable and sustainable monograph publishing ecosystem for academic publishers and libraries. With the growing number of UPL presses and libraries on board, we have established a scalable and financially sustainable model that accommodates both paywalled and open access content.”
Brian Hole, CEO of Ubiquity, emphasized the significance of stakeholder involvement in collective action, stating, “We’re extremely excited to contribute to this new initiative helping to further accelerate open access publishing in university presses. As with other Ubiquity services, the UPLO will not only be 100% open access but will also utilize open infrastructure, enhancements to which will also benefit members of the broader open source community.”
For more information, visit the University Press Library Open frequently asked questions page.
About Paradigm Publishing Services Paradigm Publishing Services, a pioneering division established by global publisher De Gruyter, is dedicated to providing tailored solutions for publishers in the humanities, social sciences, scientific associations, societies, and library publishing programs. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and led by De Gruyter Inc. Boston President Steve Fallon, Paradigm leverages a worldwide presence through De Gruyter’s esteemed brands, offering innovative approaches to maximize the potential of its portfolio. With a commitment to sustainable publishing of both open and closed content, Paradigm is poised to assist publishers in achieving global accessibility while maintaining financial viability through adaptable and personalized solutions, hosting, and commercial distribution. For more information visit, Paradigm Publishing Services press release.
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