Mission Statement

Given that the open access transition has made significant progress in the humanities and social sciences in recent years, it is becoming increasingly clear that existing models alone are not sufficient to achieve this goal under economically viable conditions. It is time to take the next step..

What's new with Purchase to Open

Many stakeholders contribute their resources to P2O. This skilful pooling of resources creates a model that combines numerous advantages: Purchase to Open links tried-and-tested acquisition structures with innovative crowdfunding methods. Acquisition and open access are, in this context, two sides of the same coin, or two options within the same pledging process. Depending on whether a predefined minimum quorum is reached or not, the acquired books are made available via Open Access or added to the library collection as a campus licence. Participation is therefore worthwhile in any case: P2O promotes high-quality content from the humanities and social sciences, and does so in a particularly resource-efficient manner.

How P2O works

Authors and publishers are planning to publish an academic book. The aim is to make the work available via Open Access. P2O comes into play when no funding has yet been secured, or when the available funding is insufficient to cover the costs of Open Access publication.

1. Submission of the project:
   The publisher posts the project on P2O and uploads the key information and a detailed cost breakdown to the pledging platform. This includes, amongst other things:

• starting budget (existing funds)
  • costs per pledge
  • minimum threshold
  • duration of the pledging campaign

2. Pledging phase:
   Visibility in the procurement process: Participating library suppliers integrate the projects into their search platforms and existing profile services. Library Choice: Supporters place their pledges via their library supplier.
    
3. Transparency and progress display:
   The current status of pledges is updated daily via a dashboard on the P2O platform. There, it is possible to track at any time how much support is still required for the open-access publication within the specified timeframe.
    

4. After completion of the crowdfunding:
   
   a) Open Access publication:
   If sufficient funds are raised through the pledges and the minimum threshold is reached, the book will be published as Open Access – permanently and freely accessible worldwide.

   b) E-book campus license:
   If the minimum threshold is not reached, the participating libraries that have made a pledge will automatically acquire the campus licence for the e-book at the same price as the pledge.

    

Purchase to Open is operated by the Transform to Open GmbH

Shareholders:
Detlef Büttner
Dietmar Dreier Wissenschaftliche Versandbuchhandlung GmbH 
Missing Link Versandbuchhandlung eG
Philipp Neie 
Bertram Salzmann
Karin Werner (transcript Verlag)