The model in summary
Opening the Future is a monograph subscription model that makes library funds go further through its collective membership scheme: achieving the dual objectives of enhancing collections while also supporting open access. Members pay a small annual fee to get DRM-free, unlimited access to a closed selection of the well-regarded Liverpool University Press backlist, with perpetual access after three years. The membership revenue is used only to produce new OA monographs, without forcing authors to find funding for book processing charges (BPCs). The programme was shortlisted for an ALPSP Innovation in Publishing Award soon after launching.
Building on library journal membership models such as Open Library of the Humanities and ‘Subscribe to Open’, this is a sustainable OA monograph publishing model that gives members access to a selection of the extensive backlist. The membership revenue is used to make newly-published books openly accessible to anyone.
More information
Use the expandable boxes below to learn more, including what it costs, who benefits, who is involved and why.
Library and institutional members are banded according to their size. Based on this, our annual membership fees are:
| Tier 1: Large institutions with active research programmes |
£800.00 |
| Tier 2: Small to mid-sized research universities; commercial customers |
£650.00 |
| Tier 3: ‘New universities’ and other medium-sized institutions with a focus on undergraduate study | £550.00 |
| Tier 4: Smaller / specialised institutions and lesser-funded institutions | £400.00 |
| Tier 5: Non-profits, museums, schools | £250.00 |
It has become increasingly clear, as open access has become more discussed, and even mandated, in monograph publishing, that current models based on BPCs are unsustainable and unequitable. Looking to the proven success of collective funding models for journals such as the Open Library of Humanities, we launched OtF in 2021 to apply the same principle to funding monographs. Through this model, we and our partner publishers are working towards creating a sustainable OA system which is equitable to authors and supports a diverse, scholar-led publishing landscape.
Members get unlimited online access to the books in the backlist package. Revenue from the membership subscription is used to fund the frontlist to be OA. Library membership fees pay for only those books that do not already have funding. If a proposal for a book comes to LUP with partial OA funding, the Press uses Opening the Future membership fees to share the production costs and publish the book OA.
The model has support from Jisc in the UK and Lyrasis in North America who assist with organising library participation in the programme. MARC records, KBART files and COUNTER compliant statistics are all available to subscribing members. Membership is open to libraries and institutions worldwide. There are no catches and no hidden fees - members won’t be asked to pay more on top of their annual fee to access ‘more’ or ‘better’ titles. The package of books that members subscribe to won’t suddenly change.
The aim of this approach is to continue to yield a sustainable source of revenue for a press while achieving the desired commitment to making more titles OA. Given the current global library environment and budget pressures, a consortial model of funding promises a cost-effective solution for OA that means no single institution bears a disproportionate burden, while all benefit.
Liverpool University Press (LUP) is the UK’s third oldest university press, with a distinguished history of publishing exceptional research since 1899, including the work of Nobel prize winners. LUP has rapidly expanded in recent years to become an award-winning academic publisher that produces approximately 150 books a year, 39 journals and a number of digital collections, specialising in literature, modern languages, history, and film studies.
LUP has been publishing OA books for more than a decade. We continue to explore OA opportunities and engage in discussions about OA with research funders, universities, academics and other publishers to improve the service we provide and uphold our aim of publishing the very best scholarship for and from the academic community.
Copim is an international partnership of researchers, universities, librarians, publishers and infrastructure providers supported by the Research England Development Fund (REDFund) and by Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. CEU Press were assisted by Copim in implementing Opening the Future. You can find out more about the Copim Community and its other open infrastructures at You can find out more about the Copim Community and its other open infrastructures on their website: