Libraries and Open Publishing Case Studies

The Libraries and Open Publishing Case Studies guide presents a series of case studies of university libraries’ open publishing initiatives and accompanying researcher case studies that demonstrate the value of these initiatives. The case studies were designed for use within and beyond the library sector to support advocacy work in relation to open access publishing and provide examples of open publishing practice from which others can learn.

Each case study focuses on one type of open access publishing facilitated or supported by university libraries and presents a case study of this publishing type in an Australian institution. The case study collection includes case studies focusing on the following publishing mechanisms and institutions:

• Institutional repository: Open@LaTrobe (OPAL)
• University Press – journals: QUT Open Access Journals
• University press – monographs: ANU Press
• Subject and other repositories: APO
• Transformative agreements: Curtin University Library Read & Publish Agreements

The Libraries and Open Publishing Case Studies Project forms part of the Advancing Open Scholarship (FAIR) program as part of the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) 2020-2022 Strategic Plan.

The Project Team comprised:

• Tracy Creagh, Academic Journals, Office for Scholarly Communication, Queensland University of Technology - Project Lead
• Jayshree Mamtora, Manager, Scholarly Communications, James Cook University
• Aliese Millington, Library Coordinator (Research Engagement), Flinders University
• Loretta S. Khanna, Copyright Coordinator, University of New England 
• Helen Slaney, Manager, Research Impact, La Trobe University 
• Lucy Walton, Scholarly Publishing Consultant, Library Research Services, Western Sydney University

The Project Team would like to thank Professor Ginny Barbour who acted as the Team’s critical friend and reviewed the case studies. As well, we acknowledge the ongoing assistance and guidance from Kate Davis Director, Strategy & Analytics (CAUL) and Catherine Clark, who at the time of this project was the Advancing Open Scholarship Program Director (CAUL). Thanks also to Cicy Zheng, CAUL’s Engagement and Administration Officer.

The Libraries and Open Publishing Case Studies Project was established in August 2021 to develop a series of case studies that showcase the strategies that university libraries are developing and implementing to distribute their universities’ research outputs using various open publishing options. Each case study includes an impact narrative from one researcher who has used the publishing option. 

Case studies were selected via a scoping activity that utilised Open Access Australasia’s curated Directory of Open Access initiatives in Australasia - Directories. The aim of the project was to develop case studies suited to a broad audience that could potentially be used in advocacy activities beyond the university library sector.

The Libraries and Open Publishing Case Studies was launched in October 2022. All information is current at the time of publication.

Except where otherwise noted, all content from Libraries and Open Publishing Case Studies is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) licence. Under the licence conditions, please attribute Libraries and Open Publishing Case Studies.