By Sam Milligan
Under Taylor & Francis’ trailblazing “Pledge to Open” campaign, twenty-six new academic, open-access books are being published. The initiative arrives at the perfect time, with each title addressing global challenges such as climate change, mental health and many others. Pledge to Open will allow a broader range of books to reach their intended audience without the usual funding required for publishing charges. This increased accessibility represents an important shift to providing future generations with critical, up-to-date information. The collections are based on complex interdisciplinary topics, purported to be inspired by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
With pledges coming from twenty-four academic institutions across North America, Australasia and Europe, all twenty-six books can be released, with many already published. Supporters of the campaign include notable UK universities such as University College London and Nottingham Trent University. The full list of titles can be found on the Taylor & Francis website, but some of the new titles include:
- Innovation Pathways to Sustainability (from the Climate Change Collection).
- Social Justice, Social Discrimination and Mental Health (from the Wellbeing and Mental Health Collection).
- A Guide to Providing LGBTQ+ Inclusive Reproductive Healthcare (from the Women’s Health and Rights Collection).
The collaborative funding project was initially launched in July 2023, explained by Taylor & Francis to “ensure the widest possible dissemination and impact of [our] research book titles.” The institutions make a pledge for their chosen collections of open-access titles, and in return receive unlimited multi-user access to these topical books. Taylor & Francis has described the scheme as “offering an equitable solution for all institutions” to engage with open-access publications globally. Each collection comprises ten titles, all of which address key global issues. With Taylor & Francis successfully meeting their funding target, more readers can critically engage with these highly relevant topics, raising awareness and increasing understanding. This democratisation of knowledge provided is a welcome development and is expected to receive ever-increasing support and pledges.
Due to the success of this initial funding pilot, Taylor & Francis has announced a second year of Pledge to Open which will commence in September. The goal is that more institutions will be able to pledge to the scheme, making more and more books on these critical topics openly accessible across learning institutions. The Pledge to Open campaign represents a positive development within the publishing industry, welcoming equal access to high-quality, informative content. Taylor & Francis’ mission, of fostering human progress through knowledge, appears to be alive and thriving.
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