On the one hand, libraries can, as a rule, be expected to seek to maximize the number of book titles they are able to purchase using their existing acquisition funds. On the other hand, the model of Knowledge Unlatched (KU) offers its stakeholders an opportunity to make a transition to Open Access, while holding their expenditures in check.

Libraries and publishers adopting the approach of KU gain the added benefit that their readers have unrestrained access to the titles that KU makes available from wherever they are without having to sign into access-restricting systems.

For their Open Access monographs, publishers and authors can use one of Creative Commons licenses. The implications of this are that these publications not only are ‘free to read’ but also conform to Open Access principles, such as availability for downloading, e.g., on OAPEN and HathiTrust’s platforms. 

All books offered to libraries via KU undergo standard peer review and editorial selection procedures. These titles are also available for acquisition as part of closed-access offerings or packages by their publishers prior to their transitioning to Open Access.

Before they are added to KU collections, these monograph titles are reviewed by the KU Title Selection Committee. Comprised of librarians from around the world, this committee shortlists around 50% of the most important works expected to be of greatest interest to the largest number of libraries globally. 

Libraries involved in the operation of the model of KU play an active role in creating a modern-day, efficient and cost-saving route toward sustainable transitions to Open Access for hundreds of Humanities and Social Sciences monographs as well as journals.

KU book titles are hosted at the following platforms and repositories:

• Open Research Library;
• OAPEN;
• JSTOR;
• Project MUSE;
• BiblioLabs;
• Unglue.it;
• HathiTrust Digital Library (Pilot Collection & Round 2);
• Arthistoricum;
• PeDocs;
• media/rep/.

Furthermore, KU book and journal titles are discoverable through the following systems:

• Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB);
• OCLC Worldcat & Knowledge Base;
• Paperhive;
• EBSCO Discovery Service;
• EBSCO Knowledge Base;
• ProQuest: Ex Libris 360 Knowledge Base (including the 360 Core, search, link, resource manager and MARC), Summon/Alma Discovery, Primo, (Serial Solutions);
• Google Scholar;
• Ubiquity Press (journals);
• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ - journals);
• Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE);
• Gemeinsamer Bibliotheksverbund (GBV);
• Südwestdeutsche Bibliotheksverbund (SWB);
• Hessisches BibliotheksInformationsSystem  (HeBIS)
• Hochschulbibliothekszentrum des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (hbz);
• Bibliotheksverbund Bayern  (BVB);
• Kooperativer Bibliotheksverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (KOBV).

KU book and journal titles are likely to be discoverable via additional systems.

Written by Nina Weisweiler

Edited by Pablo Markin

Featured Image Credits: Open access in Wordle,  April 10, 2012 | © Courtesy of fyzhou1/Flickr.

This post is based on information materials originally published in knowledgeunlatched.org, http://support.knowledgeunlatched.org/en/articles/678543-how-does-knowledge-unlatched-s-model-work and http://support.knowledgeunlatched.org/en/articles/678550-how-are-knowledge-unlatched-titles-discoverable.