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Edited volumes

This information is for anyone involved in the publication of an edited volume in the role of editor. Are you contributing as an author? Please select ‘book chapter’ as publication type. 

Utrecht University aims for 100% open access publishing, but does not make it mandatory. This means that you can publish an edited volume closed access. However, there is the chance that authors of individual chapters must meet the open access requirements of their research funder or their own institution. Check this with your authors before you choose a publisher. 

Depending on the type of edited volume and the situation the authors are in, the following routes may be suitable:

  • Diamond open access    
  • Gold open access 
  • Hybride open access, for individual chapters 
  • Green open access, for individual chapters 
  • Self-publishing 

Diamond open access 

What is Diamond open access? 

  • Publication is immediately open access. 
  • Publishing free of charge for authors and editor(s). 
  • Publication has an open licence (CC BY, if necessary CC BY-NC and/or CC BY-ND). 

How does the funding work? 

In Diamond open access the authors and editors does not have to pay publication costs. The publishers are funded by the academic community. Some publishers ask for a voluntary contribution. Check your faculty’s policy to see if a fund is available for this. 

Where do I find publishers and more information? 

Gold open access 

What is gold open access? 

  • Publication is immediately open access. 
  • Involves publication costs (BPCs). 
  • Publication has an open licence, preferably CC BY. 

How does the funding work? 

At the moment, Utrecht University does not cover BPCs from its central open access budget. Your faculty may be able to (partially) reimburse your BPC (see Faculty policy).

Some publishers also offer a ‘delayed open access’ option. This means that a book will be made open access after an embargo period at lower BPCs. We advise against this option due to the risk of ‘double dipping’. 

Where can I find publishers? 

In the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) you will find publishers who are experienced in publishing open access books. 

Hybrid open access 

What is hybrid open access, for individual chapters? 

  • The edited volume is published closed access. 
  • Individual chapters are made immediately open access upon request. 
  • Involves publication charges (CPCs). 
  • The open access chapters have an open licence, preferably CC BY. The publisher owns the copyright on the closed access chapters. 

Hybrid open access can be a solution for individual book chapter authors who have to meet their funder’s open access requirements. Even so, we advise against this option in general due to the risk of ‘double dipping’.  

How does the funding work? 

Individual authors who want to make their chapter open access via this route are personally responsible for its funding. 

Where can I find publishers? 

Many traditional publishers who offer gold open access also offer hybrid options. In the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) you will find publishers who are experienced in publishing open access books. 

Green open access 

What is Green open access? 

  • You publish the edited volume closed access at the publisher. 
  • Individual authors may use the Taverne scheme:
    • Book chapters of which at least one author is affiliated with a Dutch institution will be made open access six months after publication, via the repository of their institution.
    • The open access version of the chapter gets the same licence as the closed version.
  • Individual authors may use the Rights Retention Strategy:
    • This route is only available to authors affiliated with certain institutions or certain research funders.
    • They make the author’s version (AAM) of their chapter available immediately as open access via their institutional repository.  
    • This version is published under an open licence (CC BY).  
  •  These routes is free of charge for both you and the authors. 

What should do I do in my role as editor? 

The individual chapter authors, or their institutions, are responsible for publishing individual chapters via the green route. Please bear in mind that publishers may object to the use of the Rights Retention clause. You should therefore find out as soon as possible whether any authors intend to do so, to ensure that no one is caught off guard late in the writing and publication process. 

Self-publishing 

For certain types of edited volumes, involving a publisher may not be necessary. Examples are conference proceedings or a festschrift. For these volumes, publisher services such as peer review and marketing are less relevant. Self-publishing them may be a good option.

What is self-publishing?  

  • You publish on an open platform. 
  • You do not use a publisher or the services a publisher offers. 
  • Your publication is immediately open access. 
  • This route is free for authors. 
  • The publication has an open licence (CC BY). 

How do I follow this route?  

Possible publishing tools include GitHub and Manifold. You can also publish your book as a collection in an external repository such as Knowledge Commons or Zenodo. Both are indexed in Google Scholar and assign DOIs to every upload; this ensures your publication is visible and discoverable. You can choose which open licence to publish under, preferably CC BY.