6 May 2025
Scottish Universities Press (SUP), a newly established open access publisher, has announced the launch of its open access textbook programme, set to commence in April 2025. This development builds on the success of SUP’s open access monograph and edited collection publishing that launched in 2024. SUP seeks to address the significant need for more affordable and accessible educational resources across the UK higher education landscape.
SUP is a collaborative initiative, supported by a consortium of 20 Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL) member institutions. SUP is dedicated to advancing open access publishing, making high-quality scholarly research and educational resources available to a global audience without barriers to knowledge, and increasing the impact of academic work.
Committed to innovation and quality
Leveraging its existing infrastructure and workflow, SUP’s approach ensures a smooth transition to textbook publishing while maintaining its commitment to high-quality, peer-reviewed academic content. This innovative programme offers a wealth of benefits to empower authors and students alike:
- Open submission: Authors from any UK higher education institution can submit proposals in any subject area.
- Rigorous review: The SUP editorial board manages a thorough review process for all proposals, ensuring academic rigour and relevance.
- Extensive services: Authors benefit from comprehensive publishing services, including production, design, dissemination, and promotion.
- Freely accessible resources: Students can download textbooks without restrictions, providing them with essential learning materials at no cost.
- Affordable print copies: Print versions of textbooks are available at a reduced price, making them more accessible for students on a budget.
- Royalty opportunities: Authors will earn royalties for print copies sold, adding value to their scholarly contributions.
- Affordability checks: Enhanced pricing evaluations ensure fair pricing, with final costs confirmed upon acceptance for publication.
- Phased approach: Initially focussing on postgraduate level content with aims to include undergraduate and more complex multimedia content in the future.
Paving the way for the future
The launch of the open access textbook programme aligns seamlessly with SUP’s strategic vision to incrementally expand its publishing portfolio beyond monographs and edited collections. Since its inception, SUP has championed collaboration and inclusivity within the academic community, extending open access publishing opportunities to researchers at SCURL member institutions and, more recently, to all UK institutions, with plans to expand into journals in future.
SUP believes that knowledge should be freely accessible to all, breaking down barriers to education and research. By extending its publishing model to textbooks, SUP paves the way for a more sustainable and equitable future in academic publishing.
A library-led initiative for the community
As an innovative library-led initiative, SUP is organised by SCURL and operates collaboratively by member libraries on a not-for-profit basis.
Gillian Daly, executive officer, SCURL, remarked: “As the demand for transformative textbook publishing models resonates across the UK, SUP proudly steps forward with a fresh solution that champions accessibility, affordability, and collaboration. Together, we are reshaping the publishing landscape and ensuring that barriers to knowledge are removed.”
Hannah Whaley, chair of the SUP Management Board, added: “Our SUP open access textbook programme not only addresses the financial barriers that hinder many institutions but also empowers authors to become architects of a more equitable academic landscape. We are building a valuable community that empowers individual authors to drive positive change for the benefit of our students and our universities.
SUP is at the forefront of transforming academic publishing through collaboration, ensuring that important research and educational resources are open, inclusive, and accessible to all.”