Presented at the FORCE11 conference in November 2017 by Agata Morka, Senior Manager for OA books (Springer Nature). This presentation looks at the advantages of publishing an open access book, what services publishers provide, metadata and discoverability, abstracting and indexing, marketing, and how to measure impact.

1. Your open access book is out there… now
what? Maximising potential for open
access books.
Agata Morka, Senior Manager, OA books
Open Research Group

2. 1
You have published your open access book. It is out there…
…For us the most important was the global
outreach...
…I chose OA for increased visibility…
…NOW WHAT?
Picture by Hans Joerg Alef, under CC BY NC-ND 2.0

3. 2
Great expectations: OA books – the authors’ perspective
Why did you decide to publish your
book OA?
• Increased visibility
• Global reach of readers
• Easy access to research
• Increased number of citations and
downloads
…For us the most important was the global
outreach...
…I chose OA for increased visibility…
…I thought the book would have a greater
impact, I have learnt that OA would
increase the number of citations …

4. 3
Meeting the expectations: a post-publication life of OA books
What do publishers do?
Picture by ecks-ecks, under CC BY NC-ND 2.0

5. 4
Google it! SEO for OA books
• Most searches for publisher’s
content originate in Google and
other search engines.
• About 60% of traffic at
springer.com and about 50% of
traffic at link.springer.com
come from search engines.

6. 5
Metadata: towards a standard for OA books
• Well-prepared metadata is crucial for
maximising potential of OA books.
• Recommendations for a standard
metadata model for OA books are being
discussed among funders, institutions and
publishers.
• Some of the most important characteristics
for OA books are: DOI, rights and funder
information.

7. 6
Metadata: towards a standard for OA books
• MARC records are a crucial form of
communication with libraries.
• Information about the content being
open access shall be explicitly
indicated in MARC records.

8. 7
Abstracting and indexing for OA books
• Researchers use different ways to
access books. They cannot be
expected to go to each publisher's
website in order to download a
book.
• We work together with various
indexers to make our books as
visible/discoverable and easily
accessible as possible.

9. 8
Make it simple: publishers’ platforms
OA books on publishers’
platforms should be clearly
marked as such.
• OA filters
• OA symbols
• Access to books
• Chapter-level markers
• Covers
• Front matter

10. 9
Marketing for OA books
OA books included in regular marketing
activities:
• Promotional flyers
• Alerts, newsletters and email
campaigns
• Promoted at conferences
• Social media posts
springer.com
2014, IX, 339 p. 43 illus., 30 illus. in color.
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Sönke Bartling, Sascha Friesike (Hrsg.)
Opening Science
The Evolving Guide on How the I nternet is Changing Research,
Collaboration and Scholarly Publishing
Closes the gap between those who are online already and who are not
Provides with the status-quo and a glimpse at future developments
Provides an overview of web 2.0 tools for scientists with concrete how-to’s
I ntroduces the concept of open science
Modern information and communication technologies, together with a cultural upheaval within
the research community, have profoundly changed research in nearly every aspect. Ranging
from sharing and discussing ideas in social networks for scientists to new collaborative
environments and novel publication formats, knowledge creation and dissemination as we
know it is experiencing a vigorous shift towards increased transparency, collaboration and
accessibility. Many assume that research workflows will change more in the next 20 years than
they have in the last 200. This book provides researchers, decision makers, and other scientific
stakeholders with a snapshot of the basics, the tools, and the underlying visions that drive the
current scientific (r)evolution, often called ‘Open Science.’
Erhältlich bei Ihrem Buchhändler oder – Springer Customer Service Center GmbH, Haberstrasse 7, 69126

11. 10
How did I do? Ways of measuring impact of OA books
• OA books achieve 7x downloads on
SpringerLink compared to non-OA
books.
• Bookmetrix offers a comprehensive
overview of the reach, usage and
readership of OA books by providing
various book-level and chapter-level
metrics all in one place.
• Impact is not only about numbers.
More nuanced ways of measuring
impact of OA books should be
developed.

12. 11
The OA effect: How does open access affect the usage of
scholarly books?
Publishing an OA book with Springer Nature leads to more downloads, citations and
online mentions. More to come in our white paper (Nov 2017)
The OA effect: How does open access affect the usage of scholarly books?
PhotobyMammique

13. 12
Thank you
Agata Morka agata.morka@springernature.com
General open access books enquiries: OAbooks@springernature.com
Funding and policy advice: OAfundingpolicy@springernature.com
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twitter.com/SN_OAbooks