The Open Book Collective welcomes Leuven University Press

The Open Book Collective is delighted to welcome the Leuven University Press as a publisher member!

With over five decades of active engagement in scholarly publishing, Leuven University Press stands as a distinguished academic press curating a robust collection of books spanning the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, characterized by a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary discourse.

Crafted to resonate with a global audience of scholars, students, and expert readers, Leuven University Press’s publications undergo rigorous peer review processes to ensure scholarly excellence and relevance. Committed to sustainable and forward-looking publishing practices, Leuven University Press advocates for equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. As a press already publishing the majority of its new books open access, Leuven is committed to continuing to expand its openly available scholarly output. Readers are invited to explore their diverse range open access titles and collections.

Leuven University Press is one of three University Presses to join the OBC this month, with each offering a new Supporter Programme available for university libraries and other supporters to subscribe to. Supporters can subscribe to Leuven University Press’ programme for a term of 1 to 3 years, at a rate of between £700 and £1,300 per year (€800-€1,500; $850-$1,600), depending on the size/location of the supporting organisation. Its Supporter Programme can also be subscribed to via the OBC’s new University Press package, which combines the Supporter Programmes from all three of our University Press members.

Leuven University Press has over 50 years of publishing experience and has built up a strong book collection in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. LUP too boasts extensive expertise in publishing art and artists' books, cultivated through collaborative ventures with international museums and galleries. As a full member of the Association of University Presses and a founding member of the Association of European University Presses, it remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing scholarly discourse and collaboration on a global scale.

The OBC is a charity working to deliver a diverse and sustainable future for open access books and publisher members are crucial to that. We believe in collectivism, non-competition, and the need to reimagine the funding of open access books, to move beyond a reliance on Book Processing Charges. The OBC gathers together a range of open access presses and publishing initiatives that fit our membership criteria, creating a trusted group of open access initiatives for libraries to support and for authors and readers to explore. In this way, the OBC assists publishers in securing sustainable revenue streams to fund a fair future for open access books.

If you are a publisher working in line with our values and are interested in learning more and joining the OBC to strengthen the community of OA initiatives and access collective funding, feel free to contact our outreach team or apply directly.

If you are a library interested in finding out more about the Open Book Collective, get in touch with us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!