[IP-OA_Forum] Fwd: Open Library of Humanities and Liverpool University Press to flip Francosphères to Open Access

[Anja Oberländer <Anja.Oberlaender@uni-konstanz.de>]

FYI

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We are extremely pleased to announce that our international library partners have voted to accept Francosphères' application to join the Open Library of Humanities. This is part of our partnership with Liverpool University Press, and is the second journal – following Quaker Studies last year– that has moved from a subscription model to our full open-access model.

Francosphères is a highly respected journal devoted to transcultural and intercultural French Studies edited by an international team based in Paris, Oxford and London. Established in 2012 to support recent advances in postcolonial and gender theory, the journal has been publishing articles in English and French that seek to explore and interrogate the presence of French language and culture across frontiers and borders and how this is legitimated in ‘Francophone’ culture.

Independent peer review of the journal’s application to join the OLH platform reported that the journal offers “a unique and timely perspective on French and Francophone studies that has been providing a venue for excellent scholarship over the past five years.” Reviewers praised the journal’s internationally-respected editorial board and the intellectual value and methodological rigour of its published research to date.

Dr Caroline Edwards, co-founder and Editorial Director of the OLH, said of the launch:

“With its bilingual publishing in French and English and its strong academic support in Francophone Studies, Francosphères represents a unique opportunity for the OLH to publish a journal with obvious international appeal. Its articles explore questions of intercultural French relations in areas as diverse as the Caribbean, the Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the Middle East and China. We’re delighted to welcome Francosphères to the OLH and continue our strong working partnership with Liverpool University Press.”

Professor Martin Paul Eve, a co-founder and CEO of the OLH, added:

“I am delighted that we can extend our partnership with our forward-thinking colleagues at Liverpool University Press. Too often, publishers have squared up against open access and lacked the imaginative thinking that could make this work in the humanities. Liverpool, though, is willing to try new things, to experiment with outside partners to find a way to harness the power of the internet for the dissemination of humanities research material, openly and for all.”

Anthony Cond, Director of Liverpool University Press, said:

“Liverpool University Press is delighted to extend its partnership with the Open Library of the Humanities.  In this case, collaboration with OLH will enable the Press to take Francosphères to a new audience at a time when intercultural study has never been more important.  Just as Francosphères highlights the continuing evolution of French Studies so the Open Library of the Humanities points to the potential of alternative models of research dissemination."

Professor Andrew Hussey OBE, editor of  Francosphères said:

“I am delighted and excited at this move which will take Francosphères into a new era, with a wider and more extensive reach than ever before. This success is due to the innovative practices of LUP and the excellent work of contributors over the years. Our thanks to them all.”

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, winning academic publisher of the year awards from both The Bookseller and the Independent Publishers Guild. The Press now publishes 100 books a year and 33 journals, specialising in modern languages, history, classics and literary studies.

The Open Library of Humanities<https://www.openlibhums.org/> is an academic-led, gold open-access publisher with no author-facing charges. With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the platform covers its costs by payments from an international library consortium, rather than any kind of author fee.