Earlier this fall, scholarly communities around the world reflected on the question “Who Owns Our Knowledge?” in celebration of International Open Access Week. The theme, built on last year’s focus on “community over commercialization,” challenged us to expand our conversations beyond issues of access to encompass how knowledge is created and why community ownership of knowledge production processes matters.

Giving Tuesday, a day each year dedicated to inspiring generosity and community action, champions complementary values of community, collaboration and interconnection. That is why Lyrasis invites libraries to reflect today on how we can collectively move conversations into action by supporting Diamond Open Access and the cultural shift towards collective knowledge ownership.

Why Diamond Open Access?

UNESCO defines Diamond Open Access as “a community-driven, non-commercial model of scholarly publishing that removes financial barriers for authors and readers.” Diamond Open Access journals operate outside the commercial publishing ecosystem, which affords exciting opportunities for innovative approaches.

At the journal level, the independent nature of such publishing ventures fosters greater editorial autonomy. This, in turn, empowers scholars to produce and share knowledge in ways that are aligned with the values of their communities.

More broadly, Diamond Open Access journals and other initiatives contribute to the bibliodiversity of scholarly publishing. Yet, one of the challenges that remains is facilitating connections between prospective funders and Diamond Open Access publications.

How Can Your Library Support Diamond Open Access?

At Lyrasis, we are committed to advancing Diamond Open Access publishing initiatives as a transformative means of effecting change. The Lyrasis Open Access Community Investment Program (OACIP) was created in 2020 to provide a community-driven framework and the necessary administrative infrastructure to enable libraries and other organizations to invest directly in high-quality Diamond Open Access Journals.

In celebration of Giving Tuesday, Lyrasis invites you to learn more about our newest cohort of nine OACIP journals, which are each currently seeking three-year funding commitments:

  • Biogeography – a scholar-led, diamond open access journal transforming how biogeographical research is shared, fostering equity, inclusion and innovation.
  • Combinatorial Theory – a renewing, community-owned, barrier-free journal shaping the field of combinatorics through equitable, high-quality and sustainable publishing.
  • Environmental Humanities – a renewing, diamond open access journal bridging humanities and sciences to advance global conversations on climate, culture and sustainability.
  • Latinx Talk – a community-governed, diamond open access journal amplifying voices and innovative scholarship in Latinx Studies through multimedia and bilingual publication.
  • Limn – a scholar-led, experimental platform merging anthropology, art and public-facing scholarship to explore collaborative inquiry and innovative modes of publishing.
  • Open Mind: Discoveries in Cognitive Science – pioneering sustainable, no-fee open access publishing for innovative research across psychology, neuroscience, linguistics and decision sciences.
  • Precision Nanomedicine – advancing ethical, globally accessible and rigorously reviewed research in nanomedicine through a diamond open access model.
  • Semantics and Pragmatics – a society-led, diamond open access journal fostering high-quality, inclusive research in linguistics, philosophy and psycholinguistics.
  • Weave: Journal of Library User Experience – supporting equitable, open scholarship and community engagement in library UX research and practice.

Lyrasis welcomes financial contributions to these journals from academic and public libraries, academic departments, institutions, research centers, museums, funding agencies, and any other organizations interested in supporting Diamond Open Access.

To learn more about the three-step process to invest in these journals, please visit the OACIP website.

About Lyrasis

Lyrasis is a community-supported membership organization whose mission is to support enduring access to the world’s shared academic, scientific and cultural heritage through leadership in open technologies, content services, digital solutions and collaboration with archives, libraries, museums and knowledge communities worldwide.