Case studies

Goverance structures

• punctum books has two co-directors, two associate directors with specific roles (Editorial Development and Community and Library Outreach respectively), plus various staff roles such as web developer and system administrator. They also have an Executive Advisory Board (for business matters) and an Editorial Advisory Board (for the manuscript review process) and a Library Advisory Board (for library outreach programmme and services to academic libraries) (Business Models for OA Books)

• As a charity, Mattering Press is formally governed by its trustees, however, these trustees also comprise its Editorial Board and, in effect, run the press’ day-to-day operations. The press also has a board providing input into the subject matter of its books (the Science and Technology Studies Advisory Board), and the Open Access Advisory Board, which provides input into its publishing work more broadly (Mattering Press).

• African Minds is governed by a Board of Trustees, with Moore Management Services appointed as accountants and auditors of the Trust. The Board appoints the Editorial Board which consists of independent scholars who are experts in their respective disciplines. Their role is to assist African Minds in the review of publishing proposals and manuscripts (Business Models for OA Books). 

• Open Book Publishers is governed by a board which compromises the three Directors of the organistaion. In line with the structure of their organisation (A UK-based Community Interest Company), Directors have shares, and these are divided in such a way that two people are required for a majority. Acquisition and publishing decisions are made by the three Directors although the press does use distinct Editorial Boards for particular book series (Business Models for OA Books).

• Lever Press has a governing board (Oversight Committee) and Faculty Editorial Board. Lever Press is governed by its participating members. An Editorial Board, composed of Faculty members from participating institutions, oversees the editorial and review processes. The Oversight Committee includes representatives of participating institutions; it directs the execution of Lever’s business plan (Business Models for OA Books). 

• Amherst College Press has an Advisory Board composed of members of the OA university press world and an editorial board populated by Faculty staff of Amherst College (Business Models for OA Books).

• University of Ljubljana Press is governed by the University Dean it is part of the university structure. But the press also has an Advisory Board made of academics from different UoL departments. The Board looks into problematic areas, provides guidance and suggests solutions (Business Models for OA Books).

• Stockholm University Press has the Head who is also the Library Director and also acts as Vice-chair of the Publishing Committee consisting of one chair and four representatives from the Faculties of the University. It is responsible for overseeing the review process and publication decisions for books and journals. Members of the Committee are nominated by Faculty members and selected by the President of the University. Each book series has its own Editorial Advisory Board, responsible for the peer-review process and for ensuring the academic quality of books. The Board makes decisions on which proposals to accept (Business Models for OA Books).

• meson press is as a cooperative with a democratic governance structure: each member has one vote of equal importance. The cooperative is open to new members; however, so far it has consisted of the three founding members only (Business Models for OA Books).

• Language Science Press is owned by three associates; two are press Directors responsible for scientific quality, while the third is the Managing Director responsible for administration. The press has an Advisory Board that decides on acceptance or rejection of series proposals (Business Models for OA Books).

• Helsinki University Press has an Academic Board with members coming from international institutions. The Board accepts for publication proposals presented by the press Editors (Business Models for OA Books).

• Finnish Literature Society Press is governed by the Board of Directors, which is elected by Society delegates and the Secretary General is in charge of SKS’s opertaions. The press also has a Publishing Director and three Editorial Boards responsible for publishing decisions (Business Models for OA Books). 

• FF Open Press has a Publishing Board consisting of humanities and social sciences scholars, which is responsible for the editorial process, supported by thematic Editors (Business Models for OA Books).

Transparency and accountability

• Language Science Press has a transparency notice published on its website, has an Open Data repository, and publishes annual reports each year, providing a range of information about the press' work, activities and environmental impact (see, for example, the 2022 report).

• punctum books makes the following information available on their websites: end of the year financial statements, income and expenditure, staff roles, benefits and salary roduction costs and overheads. This information is released annually in an online statement on pubpub, and also sent to punctum’s library advisors.

• Open Book Publishers provides detailed annual reports, including information about how its books have been used, the press' work with diverse communities, and notable achievements (see, for example, the 2022 report).