Open Book Publishers
Open Book Publishers is a Cambridge, UK-based not-for-profit Community Interest Company that publishes peer-reviewed open access academic books across all disciplines, serving 270+ library members, 1,000+ EIFL partner libraries, and over 6 million global readers with no author processing charges.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersCambridge, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Open Book Publishers does
Open Book Publishers (OBP) is a Cambridge, UK-based not-for-profit open access academic book publisher founded in 2008 by scholars Alessandra Tosi and Rupert Gatti, and structured as a Community Interest Company (CIC) with an asset lock (Company No. 6707027). The press publishes peer-reviewed monographs, edited collections, textbooks, and critical translations across all academic disciplines, with over 450 titles in catalogue and a steady production cadence of 60-70 new books per year. All books are released freely in PDF, HTML, and sometimes XML formats from day of publication, with affordable print-on-demand paperback, hardback, and EPUB editions sold globally through the OBP website and major retail channels.
Open Book Publishers firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Open Book Publishers
- Legal name
- Open Book Publishers
- Website
- https://openbookpublishers.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Open Book Publishers is a Cambridge, UK-based not-for-profit Community Interest Company that publishes peer-reviewed open access academic books across all disciplines, serving 270+ library members, 1,000+ EIFL partner libraries, and over 6 million global readers with no author processing charges.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Open Book Publishers industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open Access Academic Publishing
- NAICS
- Book Publishers (513130), Book Publishers (51313)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing (MPAJABAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ), Open Textbooks (Open-licensed core texts) (EDAGAJAA)
Keywords
Where Open Book Publishers is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Open Book Publishers business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Book Sales: Sales of paperback, hardback and ebook editions (PDF and HTML editions are freely available). Using print-on-demand technology, books are available for purchase globally through the website and major retail outlets. All income from sales is reinvested into publishing more open access books.
- Title Grants and Donations: Authors apply for grant funding to defray publishing costs when able. In 2024-2025, 35 books had no funding, 15 had partial funding, and 18 were fully funded. The press also receives grants and donations unattached to specific books. Publishing decisions are based solely on peer review, not funding availability.
- Library Membership Programme: Annual institutional contributions from libraries worldwide in exchange for digital access for all staff/students/alumni, discounts on printed editions, MARC records, and usage statistics. The programme has grown to over 270 library members globally. Generated £130,484 in 2024-2025.
- R&D Grant Funding: Research and development work is grant funded separately from publishing. In 2024-2025, OBP received £364,814 in grant funding for R&D projects including open source software development for the OA book ecosystem.
- Patreon Monthly Support: Monthly supporter contributions via Patreon with exclusive benefits for supporters.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Tier 1 - Large institutions (10,000+ FTE) |
| Subscription | Annual | Tier 2 - Medium institutions (5,000-9,999 FTE) |
| Subscription | Annual | Tier 3 - Smaller institutions (0-4,999 FTE) |
| Subscription | Annual | The Quarto - Series support tier |
| Subscription | Annual | The Folio - Premium series support tier |
| Other | Multi-year contract | EIFL Partnership - Free access for developing countries |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Open Book Publishers product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Open Book Publishers is a non-profit open access academic press that publishes peer-reviewed monographs, edited collections, textbooks, and critical translations across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. All titles are made freely available in PDF and HTML online, while paperback, hardback, and EPUB editions are sold via print-on-demand. Operations are funded through book sales, library memberships, title-linked grants, donations, and R&D grant funding, with no Book Processing Charges (BPCs) charged to authors.
Product overview
Open Book Publishers is an independent, non-profit open access academic press founded in 2008, based in Cambridge, UK. The core offering is a scholarly publishing platform that produces rigorously peer-reviewed monographs, edited collections, textbooks, critical translations, and reports across all disciplines (Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences). The platform distributes books freely in PDF, HTML, and XML formats while also offering print-on-demand paperback and hardback editions, and EPUB ebooks for purchase. Supporting infrastructure includes Thoth Open Metadata (open source metadata management system) and a Metrics API (for querying usage statistics). The Library Membership Programme enables institutions to support OA publishing and provides their users free digital access to all titles. OBP does not charge authors Book Processing Charges (BPCs), funding operations through a mixed model of sales, library memberships, and grant funding.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Open Book Publishers Platform An open access academic publishing platform that produces peer-reviewed monographs, edited collections, textbooks, and critical translations across humanities, social sciences, and sciences. All books are freely available in PDF, HTML, and sometimes XML; paperback, hardback, and EPUB editions are sold via print-on-demand.
- Thoth Open Metadata An open-source metadata management and dissemination system that enables presses to manage metadata for open access books and export it to platforms, catalogues, and dissemination channels. Powers OBP's catalogue and is used by other publishers including Open Book Collective and ScholarLed.
- Metrics API A REST API that provides access to OBP's book usage statistics and readership data, allowing querying of measures, events, and geographic readership with aggregation and filtering. Powers the OPERAS Metrics Portal for the open access community.
- Library Membership Programme An institutional support programme that provides libraries and their users access to all OBP's digital editions free of charge, along with discounts on printed editions. The programme has grown to over 270 library members globally and generated £130,484 in 2024-2025.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 14 million book interactions and 80,000+ monthly readers globally
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Open Book Publishers
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Open Book Publishers technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature4 records
Open Book Publishers partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
20 partnerships are on record, tiered secondary, core and minor.
- PALOMERA (Policy Alignment of Open Access Monographs in the European Research Area)secondaryHorizon Europe funded project (2022-2024) providing actionable recommendations for aligned funder and institutional policies for OA books. OBP was a partner contributing to objectives of speeding transition to OA for books.
- Copim (Community-led Open Publishing Infrastructure)coreCopim is building and advocating for community-controlled, open systems and infrastructures for OA book publishing. OBP is a key partner in the Open Book Futures project, funded by £5.8 million from Research England Development Fund and Arcadia Fund. OBP contributes to developing Thoth metadata system and other open infrastructure.
- Open Access Books Network (OABN)coreOBP is one of three coordinators alongside OAPEN/DOAB and SPARC Europe of this free network enabling knowledge sharing, best practices, and support on OA books issues. Coordinates events, blog posts, and resources for the OA books community.
- Open Book CollectivecoreCommunity and platform developed by Copim to enable presses and infrastructures to seek funding from libraries. OBP is a member, with their catalogue powered by Thoth and available through the collective platform.
- Thoth Open MetadatacoreOpen metadata management and dissemination system developed as part of Copim. Powers OBP's metadata management and catalogue. Open source software producing CC-0 metadata with open API for data sharing.
- ScholarLedcoreOBP is a founder member of this consortium of non-profit, academic-led OA publishers collectively developing ways for small-scale presses to grow. Shares knowledge, resources, and expertise across consortium to expand OA access.
- Open Institutional Publishing Association (OIPA)secondaryOBP is an associate member of OIPA, a community of practice for publishing operations affiliated with institutions striving for OA, from small university presses to library-based journals. Provides forum for sharing advice, training, and best practice.
- DiXiT (Digital Scholarly Editions Initial Training Network)minorOBP is an Associate Partner providing secondments to early stage researchers for digitization projects and research facilitation.
- HIRMEOS (High Integration of Research Monographs in the European Open Science Infrastructure)secondaryEU Framework Programme project developing services for OA monographs across platforms. OBP created database architecture, protocols, and usage data collection tools as part of this project.
- Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)coreAll OBP titles are listed in DOAB, providing searchable index to peer-reviewed OA monographs with links to full texts at publisher's website or repository.
- OpenEdition BookscorePublications hosted on OpenEdition Books platform, a web portal for humanities and social sciences hosting OA publications from consortium of over 160 publishers.
- College Open Textbooks (COT)secondaryUS non-profit organization with extensive listing of open textbooks uploading OBP titles to their platform for wider educational distribution.
- Open Textbook Platforms (MERLOT, Open Textbook Library, OER Commons, BCcampus)secondaryOBP titles available on multiple open textbook platforms for educational accessibility including MERLOT, Open Textbook Library, OER Commons, and BCcampus OpenEd Resources.
- Unglue.itminorCollaboration to produce books released under Creative Commons licenses through community support. Service provided by The Free Ebook Foundation.
- RNIB BooksharesecondaryPartnership with Royal National Institute for the Blind making all OBP books available on Bookshare platform for print-disabled learners including those with dyslexia or visual impairments. Books available in Braille-ready and DAISY formats.
- EIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries)corePartnership provides three years' free OBP Library Membership to libraries in EIFL partner countries including Botswana, Kosovo and others. Through this, over 1,000 libraries in middle and low-income countries provide free digital access to all staff, students and alumni.
- Radical Open Access Alliance (ROAC)secondaryMember of community of scholar-led, not-for-profit presses and OA projects promoting progressive vision for open publishing in humanities and social sciences.
- INASP (International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications)minorPart of INASP's network of OA organisations working to support global research communication with focus on needs of developing and emerging countries.
- Pure Open Access AlliancesecondaryOBP is a founding member representing major publishers releasing all their list in OA format, working to promote OA policies and best practices.
- OPERAS ConsortiumsecondaryOBP contributes to OPERAS Metrics service and participates in EU-funded projects developing open infrastructure for scholarly communications.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Open Book Publishers competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- OAPEN: OAPEN operates the foundational open access book library and metadata infrastructure for OA monographs in Europe. OBP contributes its catalogue to OAPEN and participates in joint EU-funded projects (HIRMEOS, Copim), making OAPEN the closest infrastructure peer in the OA book ecosystem.
- Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB): DOAB is the primary discovery index for peer-reviewed open access books and a key distribution channel for OBP. OBP is one of three coordinators of the Open Access Books Network alongside DOAB/OAPEN and SPARC Europe, making it both a customer-facing channel and a strategic ecosystem partner.
- ScholarLed: ScholarLed is a consortium of scholar-led, non-profit OA book publishers of which OBP is a founding member. Member presses (Mattering Press, meson press, punctum books, etc.) share the same no-BPC, scholar-led model and collectively develop open infrastructure, making them the closest comparable direct peers.
- Lever Press: Lever Press is a scholar-led OA monograph publisher supported by a consortium of liberal arts college libraries. It operates a similar library-funded, no-BPC model to OBP and competes for the same scholar-author and library-member relationships in the humanities and social sciences.
- Knowledge Unlatched: Knowledge Unlatched pioneered library-supported open access monograph publishing via 'pledge' models. It targets the same library-budget-driven OA monograph market as OBP's Library Membership Programme, making it a closely comparable business-model peer.
- punctum books: punctum books is a ScholarLed member and scholar-led OA monograph publisher with a similar humanities/social-sciences focus and no-BPC ethos. It is one of the most directly comparable small-scale OA book publishers operating today.
Broad incumbents
- De Gruyter: De Gruyter is a major academic publisher with a growing OA monograph program via its 'De Gruyter Open' portfolio. As a broad incumbent it competes for the same scholarly authors and library budgets that OBP targets, but operates at much larger scale across a wide portfolio.
- Cambridge University Press: Cambridge University Press publishes OA monographs and is based in the same city as OBP. As a broad incumbent with deep library relationships and transformative agreements, it represents the established institutional alternative to OBP's library membership model.
- Brill: Brill is a long-established academic publisher with an OA books program and co-awarded the IFLA/Brill Open Access Award that recognized OBP in 2013. It competes in the same humanities and social-sciences OA monograph space with substantially greater scale.
- MIT Press (Direct to Open): MIT Press's 'Direct to Open' initiative is a library-funded OA monograph program for humanities and social sciences titles. It targets the same institutional library funding pool as OBP but with substantially larger catalogue volume and MIT brand recognition.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat7 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Open Book Publishers social profiles
Digital presenceOpen Book Publishers financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Open Book Publishers leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Open Book Publishers funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Open Book Publishers M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Open Book Publishers
What does Open Book Publishers do?
Open Book Publishers is a non-profit open access academic press that publishes peer-reviewed monographs, edited collections, textbooks, and critical translations across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. All titles are made freely available in PDF and HTML online, while paperback, hardback, and EPUB editions are sold via print-on-demand. Operations are funded through book sales, library memberships, title-linked grants, donations, and R&D grant funding, with no Book Processing Charges (BPCs) charged to authors.
Is Open Book Publishers a public or private company?
Open Book Publishers is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Open Book Publishers founded?
Open Book Publishers was founded in 2008. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Open Book Publishers based?
Open Book Publishers is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Open Book Publishers make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Book Sales are the primary driver. The others are title Grants and Donations, library Membership Programme, R&D Grant Funding and patreon Monthly Support.
Who are Open Book Publishers's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are OAPEN, Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB), ScholarLed, Lever Press, Knowledge Unlatched and punctum books. Broad incumbents are De Gruyter, Cambridge University Press, Brill and MIT Press (Direct to Open).
Does Open Book Publishers have an API?
Yes. Open Book Publishers offers a REST API for querying usage statistics (metrics). The API allows access to book measures, events, and readership data with various filtering and aggregation options. Available endpoints include GET /measures (lists available measure descriptions) and GET /events (retrieves measures with parameters for aggregation by measure_uri, country_uri, year, month, work_uri, and filter options). The API powers the OPERAS Metrics Portal (metrics-api.operas-eu.org) to which OBP contributes all usage statistics. The underlying open source software was developed by OBP for the HIRMEOS project and is available on GitHub. Developer documentation is at metrics.api.openbookpublishers.com.
What industry is Open Book Publishers in?
Open Book Publishers's product category is Open Access Academic Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJABAG, Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing, with a secondary code of EDAGAFAJ, Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs. Its NAICS code is 513130 and its SIC code is 2731.