Knowledge Unlatched is a not-for-profit initiative that aims to revolutionize scholarly publishing. It was founded in 2012 with the mission to increase access to scholarly content and reduce the cost of access for libraries and readers around the world.
In traditional scholarly publishing, books and journals are often expensive to access for individual readers and even for libraries, which may have limited budgets. This often results in a limited range of readership for the content and can hinder the potential impact of the research.
Knowledge Unlatched offers a new model of publishing where the cost of producing the content is shared by a group of libraries, who then make the content available for free to readers worldwide. This model, called the Global Library Consortium, enables libraries to combine their purchasing power and ensure the production of high-quality, peer-reviewed research in a wide range of subject areas.
To date, Knowledge Unlatched has successfully unlocked over 800 titles, making them available through open access. This has allowed the research to reach a broader audience and generate greater impact.
In addition to the Global Library Consortium, Knowledge Unlatched has also created a range of other initiatives to support open access publishing. These initiatives include the Open Research Library, which provides free access to peer-reviewed content, and the Open Access Funding and Support (OAfS) platform, which helps authors secure funding for open access publishing.
The success of Knowledge Unlatched’s model has been highlighted by various case studies. For example, the publishing of the book “Muslim American Politics and the Future of US Democracy” by Edward E. Curtis IV was supported by the University of Michigan Press and Knowledge Unlatched. The book received over 250,000 views and downloads in just a few months, illustrating the potential of open access publishing.
In conclusion, Knowledge Unlatched is revolutionizing scholarly publishing by creating a sustainable model that supports open access and reduces the cost of access for readers and libraries worldwide. This model has demonstrated success in a variety of subject areas and has the potential to greatly increase the impact of research.
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