UPLOpen expands open access library to 10,000 titles supporting global research
UPLOpen, the open-access eBook platform managed by the De Gruyter eBound Foundation, has reached a milestone of 10,000 open access titles from more than 50 academic publishers..
Since its launch in April 2024, the platform has expanded its collection with works from more than 50 academic publishers, focusing on making scholarly research widely accessible.
UPLOpen was developed to provide a centralized platform for open-access academic research and to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The initiative brings together a wide range of scholarly publications, ensuring that academic research remains accessible to a global audience.
De Gruyter eBound, which manages UPLOpen, was founded in 2022 to support open-access publishing in the humanities and social sciences. The foundation oversees the funding and coordination of the platform, working with institutions to distribute financial support across the academic publishing landscape.
The platform provides open-access content covering a range of disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. More than 1,800 of the titles in UPLOpen’s collection were published in 2023 or later. Participating publishers include institutions such as the University of Chicago Press, Cornell University Press, Duke University Press, New York University Press, and Stanford University Press.
The collection also features complete series from Luminos, the University of California Press’ open-access initiative, and Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem (TOME), a project led by the Association of American Universities, Association of Research Libraries, and the Association of University Presses.
Platform enhancements
Alongside the growth in its collection, UPLOpen has introduced new features to improve user experience. The platform’s search functionality has been updated to allow content discovery based on meaning and context rather than only keyword matches. This enhancement aims to make academic research easier to find and access.
Usage tracking has also been improved through the integration of OPERAS, a tool developed by Ubiquity that provides data on how open-access publications are accessed and used. This addition is intended to support data-driven decision-making for institutions and researchers.
UPLOpen has also expanded its availability in library cataloging systems. Its collection is now indexed in knowledge bases such as OCLC, EBSCO, and Ex Libris, increasing discoverability. Additionally, MARC records for the entire collection can be downloaded in bulk, allowing libraries to integrate UPLOpen’s catalog into their systems.
Peter Potter, Executive Director of De Gruyter eBound, emphasized the significance of these developments, stating:
"The growing number of titles, the enhanced functionality, and improved discoverability on UPLOpen are all designed to meet the evolving needs of users wherever they are in the world. These advancements reflect our ongoing commitment to supporting the open-access movement and ensuring that academic research is accessible to everyone, regardless of geographical or institutional barriers.”
Jane Bunker, Director of Cornell University Press, noted the benefits of the platform for publishers and libraries:
"These milestones are incredibly beneficial to everyone in the scholarly publishing landscape – not just libraries, but also publishers. Having user data readily at hand means we can approach publishing content with a different eye.”
