Category Archives: oa.ceu_press

Opening the Future at CEU Press: an update on progress

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“A brief look at our progress so far, since launching our OA funding programme in 2021

Central European University (CEU) Press, in partnership with the COPIM project, are proud to share the first insights into the global reach of open access (OA) titles funded by their Opening the Future (OtF) initiative. This collective subscription model gives libraries access to a selection of the Press’ backlist and uses the membership fees to publish new OA titles to increase readership. A forthcoming report, based on Project MUSE usage data, looks in detail at the usage of these OA books – below we outline a few highlights from the report.

WHAT did we achieve so far?

The model, launched in 2021, has grown its membership continuously and we already have the funding for more than 35 OA titles over the next few years.

HOW did OA book usage grow?

Looking at usage data on the Project MUSE platform between December 2021 and December 2022, we compared the ten OtF-funded OA books to ten similar closed titles. Similar titles were chosen on the basis of close publication dates and subject scope.

Project MUSE host the gated backlist packages as well as the new frontlist OA titles and we can see that the readership of our books has risen substantially with the introduction of OA, which is no surprise. Since 2021 our OA books funded by Opening the Future have been downloaded 36 times more frequently than similar gated titles. 

In fact, for the same time period, the overall download numbers for all CEU Press books on Project MUSE also show not only significant increase in usage across all titles, but more specifically a strong growth in the usage of OA books….”

University of Washington becomes new Opening the Future member at CEU Press and Liverpool University Press

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“CEU Press and Liverpool University Press (LUP) are pleased to announce that the library at the University of Washington is a new member of the Opening the Future (OtF) programmes at both publishers. 

The U of Washington library has chosen to sign up to: 

 

At CEU Press: the Library Selection Package, which contains 50 eBooks selected by an independent panel of librarians on the history of the Central and Eastern European region, culture, communism, politics, and transitions to democracy. This package contains a cross-section of books and represents those CEU Press titles that might be of interest to any library across a number of disciplines.

At LUP: the Modern Languages Package which contains 37 eBooks on ‘Contemporary Hispanic and Lusophone Cultures’ and ‘Liverpool Latin American Studies’, including titles on languages, politics, popular culture, and business.

 

The library will retain access to all of these books with both presses in perpetuity after three years of membership….”

University of Washington becomes new Opening the Future member at CEU Press and Liverpool University Press

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“CEU Press and Liverpool University Press (LUP) are pleased to announce that the library at the University of Washington is a new member of the Opening the Future (OtF) programmes at both publishers. 

The U of Washington library has chosen to sign up to: 

 

At CEU Press: the Library Selection Package, which contains 50 eBooks selected by an independent panel of librarians on the history of the Central and Eastern European region, culture, communism, politics, and transitions to democracy. This package contains a cross-section of books and represents those CEU Press titles that might be of interest to any library across a number of disciplines.

At LUP: the Modern Languages Package which contains 37 eBooks on ‘Contemporary Hispanic and Lusophone Cultures’ and ‘Liverpool Latin American Studies’, including titles on languages, politics, popular culture, and business.

 

The library will retain access to all of these books with both presses in perpetuity after three years of membership….”

University of Texas at Austin becomes new Opening the Future subscriber member with CEU Press

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“Central European University (CEU) Press are pleased to announce that the library at the University of Texas at Austin is a new subscribing member of their Opening the Future collective OA funding programme. 

The University Library has chosen to sign up to the Library Selection Package containing 50 books selected by an independent panel of librarians. This selection is a cross-section of the other three backlist packages and represents those titles that might be of interest to researchers across a number of disciplines. CEU Press is a leading publisher in the history of communism and transitions to democracy; it is widely recognised as the foremost English-language university press dedicated to research on Central and Eastern Europe and the former communist countries….”

University of Texas at Austin becomes new Opening the Future subscriber member with CEU Press

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“Central European University (CEU) Press are pleased to announce that the library at the University of Texas at Austin is a new subscribing member of their Opening the Future collective OA funding programme. 

The University Library has chosen to sign up to the Library Selection Package containing 50 books selected by an independent panel of librarians. This selection is a cross-section of the other three backlist packages and represents those titles that might be of interest to researchers across a number of disciplines. CEU Press is a leading publisher in the history of communism and transitions to democracy; it is widely recognised as the foremost English-language university press dedicated to research on Central and Eastern Europe and the former communist countries….”

University of Cambridge becomes new Opening the Future member

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CEU Press and COPIM are pleased to announce that the library at the University of Cambridge is one of the latest subscriber members to Opening the Future. 

Cambridge has signed up to the Editors’ Choice package. This means that their staff and students now have unlimited and concurrent access to 50 different eBooks on subjects ranging from mediaeval Europe, to human rights, Jewish studies, European economics, public health, and the fall of communism.

CEU Press OA monograph library membership model – free webinar for CRL

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“FREE WEBINAR. CRL have partnered with Central European University (CEU) Press to offer subscriptions to curated packages of the Press’ extensive backlist on the history, culture and politics of Central and Eastern Europe and Russia, including the transitions to democracy. The packages are DRM-free and libraries get perpetual access after a membership period of three years. Membership subscription revenue is used by the Press to produce new frontlist books in Open Access (OA) format, freely accessible to anyone. Shortlisted in 2021 for an ALPSP Innovation in Publishing Award, we call the scheme Opening the Future.

CEU Press and project-partner COPIM are hosting a free webinar on Tuesday, May 24th from 10am – 11am (PST) to talk about their journey in flipping to open, and to talk though the packages of backlist books on offer. The webinar will also offer Q&A. There is more information available in advance, including a more detailed pricing breakdown, on eDesiderata. 

Announcing CEU Press’s Fifth OA Book

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Central European University (CEU) Press is pleased to announce the publication of a new book this week: Everyday Life under Communism and After: Consumption and Lifestyle in Hungary, 1945–2000 by Tibor Valuch. It is a fascinating look at how common people lived in Hungary during, and after, tumultuous regime changes.

 

Fourth OA Book Funded by Opening the Future

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We’re pleased to announce that our project partner Central European University (CEU) Press has released another book, fully funded as open access through our Opening the Future project, thanks to library support. Published last week it is now available for free download and also available to buy in print.

Memory Crash: Politics of History In and Around Ukraine, 1980s-2010s by Georgiy Kasianov is a timely reminder that issues of the past worry people no less than issues of the present – with controversies around how a country’s history is interpreted often turning both public and state realms into battlefields of memory. This book is an account of the historical politics in Ukraine embedded within the broader European context, with lessons for countries beyond.

 

EU Press’ Opening the Future Programme Publishes 2nd OA Book

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We are pleased to announce that Opening the Future at Central European University Press has accrued enough library support to publish another open access (OA) monograph: Constructing Identities over Time: “Bad Gypsies” and “Good Roma” in Russia and Hungary by Jekatyerina Dunajeva. This is hot on the heels of the release of our first OA book; the programme is gaining momentum and already making a difference with five books in total now funded and available, or in production.

Opening the Future at CEU Press is a cost-effective way for libraries to increase their digital collections on the history and culture of Central and Eastern Europe and the former communist countries. Subscribing libraries get unlimited multi-user access to curated packages of books, with perpetual access after three years. The Press uses membership funds to produce new frontlist titles in open access format. All OA titles are available via Project MUSE, OAPEN and the Open Research Library, and are findable on DOAB. 

CEU Press publish 2nd Opening the Future OA Book

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COPIM is pleased to announce that the Opening the Future programme at Central European University Press has accrued enough library support to publish another open access (OA) monograph: Constructing Identities over Time: “Bad Gypsies” and “Good Roma” in Russia and Hungary by Jekatyerina Dunajeva. This is hot on the heels of the release of their first OA book.

CEU Press Reaches Target for Fifth Book Funded by Opening the Future Programme

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Slated for release in January 2022, we’re pleased to announce the title of another monograph that will be published fully open access (OA) by CEU Press: Staged Otherness: Ethnic Shows in Central and Eastern Europe, 1850–1939, edited by Dagnos?aw Demski and Dominika Czarnecka.

Thanks to library support through our Opening the Future (OtF) model, this book is the fifth one to accrue enough funding to allow us to make it freely accessible, without paywalls. January will see several new CEU Press OA titles released, all funded by OtF.