Davis Open Access Book Fund to End on October 15, 2025
Like all campus units, the UC Davis Library is facing significant budget cuts. To help address the savings targets we have been assigned by campus, the library has made the difficult decision to discontinue the Davis Open Access Book Fund. The last day to apply for funding for open access monographs will be October 15, 2025 (a copy of the signed book contract must be included with the application).
We recognize that this program has been deeply valued by UC Davis book authors who choose to publish open access.
Through the Davis Open Access Book Fund — including its predecessor program, the national TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem) initiative — UC Davis authors and editors have been able to publish 24 books open access since 2018. Enabling these books to be published open access has increased the visibility of UC Davis’ research in the humanities and social sciences and made these titles more accessible for a wider readership. Some of these books have won awards; others are now used in classrooms at no cost to students.
We regret that budget pressures have forced us to take this step, and will resume funding for open access books should philanthropic support or other for the program become available in the future. Please note that UC’s open access publishing agreements for journal articles are unaffected by this change.
Other Open Access Funding Options for Book Authors
The University of California libraries have launched two pilot programs to support UC-affiliated authors who choose to publish their monographs open access. Through these three-year pilots, UC authors publishing monographs with UC Press and Duke University Press will be offered the opportunity to make their books open access, with funding provided by the UC libraries (through UC’s California Digital Library).
If you have questions about this change or the two systemwide pilot programs, please contact Michael Ladisch, the library’s scholarly communication officer, at mladisch@ucdavis.edu.