19 November 2025
Lyrasis, in collaboration with the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s Center for Library Programs and the California Digital Library (CDL), has been awarded a $206,886 grant from the Gates Foundation to advance community-governed, open access scholarly publishing in the United States.
The grant will support the project Mapping U.S. Diamond Open Access Journals, which will conduct the first national mapping of Diamond Open Access (OA) publishing in the United States. Diamond OA journals are peer-reviewed publications that are free for both authors and readers and operate without commercial profit motives. The project will illuminate the decentralized U.S. landscape of Diamond OA journals, surface sector-wide challenges, and provide actionable recommendations in support of sustainable, non-commercial scholarly publishing. By identifying infrastructure, investment, and policy needs, the project aims to produce actionable recommendations to guide institutions, funders, and coalitions in creating sustainable, field-informed investments that strengthen openness and resilience in scholarly communication.
This work builds on the ongoing commitment of these organizations to advance Diamond Open Access in the United States, as outlined in this April 2024 press release.
“This project represents a significant commitment to building a future where scholarly research is fully recognized as a public good,” said Sharla Lair, Lead Strategist of Open Scholarship at Lyrasis. “Supported by the grant, our team will identify opportunities for collaboration among existing Diamond Open Access initiatives in the U.S., including those supported by the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s Center for Library Programs and the California Digital Library, while also uncovering new ways to strengthen connections between U.S. efforts and the global Diamond Open Access movement.”
Scholarly publishing is currently dominated by commercial publishers, whose profit-driven practices create barriers to authorship and access. Diamond OA offers a community-driven alternative that eliminates fees for authors and readers, democratizing access and fostering broader participation in research. By supporting economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable publishing models, the project aims to expand the reach and impact of scholarship while strengthening the scholarly record with a broader range of voices and perspectives.
The project will run through February 2027 and will be led by Sharla Lair, Lead Strategist of Open Scholarship at Lyrasis with support from co-PIs Catherine Mitchell, Director of Publishing, Archives, and Digitization at the California Digital Library, and Kate McCready, Program Director for Open Publishing at the Big Ten Academic Alliance. Data collection and analysis are being led by Emily Goff of Goff Group, LLC.
The success of this project depends on the engagement of the broader community. We invite individuals and organizations interested in staying informed about this project to complete this form to receive updates and opportunities to participate.