Publishing your book or book chapter Open Access has a range of benefits and there are a variety of ways you can do this. The best route will depend on your funder, the audience and the publishers of your research and we also offer advice on publishing choices.

Use the OAPEN Open Access Books Toolkit to understand the process of publishing an Open Access book.

This route means you deposit a version of your work in the Kent Academic Repository (KAR).

• This costs nothing.
• It's most suitable for book sections and chapters.
• It works for books that are published in print or online.
• You need to get the permission of the publisher to put your work in KAR. Many publishers allow this. Email us if you need advice: researchsupport@kent.ac.uk.
• This community knowledgebase of OA policies on books and chapters (google sheet) provided by UKCORR is a useful tool to find out what your publisher will allow you to do with your book or chapter   
• You are usually only allowed to use the Author Accepted Manuscript of a chapter.
• You usually need to use an embargo, which means your work won't be Open Access until a set period of time has passed.

This route means that the author, institution or funder pays a book processing charge (BPC) to make the work Open Access. The University has funds available to pay these charges.

• This route applies to e-books only.
• Your book will be freely and publicly available online upon publication.
• You choose the terms under which your work is shared and re-used by applying a Creative Commons licence.

The University of Kent joins with other academic libraries through internationally coordinated schemes to pay fixed costs each year for collections of Open Access books. Examples are Knowledge Unlatched and Open Book Publishers.

You may be asked if you'd like your book to be made Open Access as part of one of these schemes. Check that the publisher is credible before you agree.

Use these tools to choose a quality, trusted publisher for your book or chapter.

You can apply for a book processing charge (BPC), which is a fee paid to the publisher to make a book freely available online. 

Currently there are limited funds available for BPCs. 

Before you apply

You need to meet all of these criteria:

• you're a Kent staff member;
• you're the author who enters into the contract with the publisher and agrees the terms under which the article will be used in future; and
• you are happy for your book to be published under a CC BY licence.

Your application will be subject to a quality assessment by your divisional director of research and innovation.  

What happens next?

We'll email you with a reference number and lead you through the rest of the process.

When your book gets published

If you're successful with your application for a BPC:

1. view the book online and check that it's accessible
2. enter the details in KAR and tick the "Article Processing Charge" box in the record
3. upload the full text of your work to KAR and apply a Creative Commons license
4. track the dissemination of your book or chapter.

Need research support or advice? Email researchsupport@kent.ac.uk

Find out all the ways you can get in touch.