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In May, Taylor & Francis launched Open Plus Books. A new book publishing concept that fuses the traditional print and open access books model with F1000’s open research publishing model. As a partner with F1000, we are delighted to support this initiative and that the pilot book is published on Gates Open Research.

In this blog post, we cover the features and benefits before discussing the approach with Ashley Farley, Programme Officer of Knowledge and Research Services at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Learn more about Open Plus Books and how it supports Gates Foundation grantees in sharing and disseminating their research.

What are Open Plus Books?

Open Plus Books enables Gates funded authors to publish a book open access on the Gates Open Research publishing platform within just a few days of submission. Each chapter is a standalone piece, so chapters can be published as soon as they are accepted, and additional chapters can be added at any time. Chapters have the same benefits and transparency as research articles and other content published on Gates Open Research, with rapid publication, open data, and an individual unique identifier (DOI).

The format is dynamic, allowing books to evolve as authors can continue to update, revise, and add additional chapters using the “versioning” functionality. This is just like the new versions of articles that are published once authors incorporate amendments in response to peer review comments. This also means that chapters can be amended to reflect changes in research, knowledge, policy, legislation, or standards.

Chapters can include all underlying data and interactive figures, enabling visualization, interaction, reanalysis, replication, and reuse. Code is fully readable in the body of the chapter, as the Open Plus Books publication supports for code syntax highlighting.

All chapters receive open peer review, so authors can revise and address any comments. Once chapters have received two Approved Status reviews they will be indexed automatically in bibliographic databases.

You can learn more about the full range of features and benefits here.

Shifting the boundaries: an interview with Ashley Farley to explore Open Plus Books

How does Open Plus Books better support the needs of researchers?  

Open Plus Books provides a publishing option that allows for public sharing of the text more quickly while receiving feedback to easily make improvements. It also better supports readers that can see the trajectory of the book from transparent peer review to detailed versioning.

Why should authors be encouraged to publish their work in this way on an Open Research platform? 

It provides flexibility that does not exist elsewhere in how the community can provide quick, transparent, feedback and the option to future changes. The authors are in full control of their publication. All elements of research will be transparently displayed which will lead to higher impact of the work and ability to provide full credit to the researchers involved.

Do you think open access helps diversify readership and usage of the scholarly work? 

Yes. Open access increases diversity of readership and usage as there are little to no barriers for access and reuse. With open access there is instant access for any readers regardless of financial status or institutional affiliation. Openly available research will be easier to cite, remix, or comment on. This provides the opportunity for anyone to engage in the creation and proliferation of knowledge. This promotes a publishing environment that best reflects how research is conducted and knowledge is created – by conversation and collaboration.

How does this support Gates funded authors in making their work more discoverable and impactful? 

We hope that this provides even more opportunity for our grantee authors to leverage current technologies to share their research sooner, to a wider audience, all with the flexibility to improve on the piece without technological or editorial barrier. And as Gates Open Research is fully aligned with Plan S, the foundation will cover the publishing costs for grantees from a central fund.

How does Open Plus Books support the aims of Gates Open Research and the drive towards sustainable open research?  

All article types used to communicate information and share knowledge are important and should be openly available for access and reuse. Providing a way for books to be transformed openly aligns very well with the aims of Gates Open Research. As we continue to hear the needs of our grantee authors, we are prepared to find ways to meet those needs.

Read the pilot book, Child Development with the D-score by Stef van Buuren, University of Utrecht, and Iris Eekhout, Statistician at TNO in Leiden. The first two chapters are available at Gates Open Research: Chapter 1: Turning Milestones into Measurement and Chapter 2: Tuning Instruments to Unity. Both are awaiting peer review and Chapters 3 and 4 are to follow.

Please get in touch if you have any questions about Open Plus Books.