Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is Open Access (OA)?
A. Open access means free access to online versions of books, journals, and other formats of publications. Readers around the world can download, copy, and distribute our books from anywhere in the world, as long as appropriate credit is given and the works are not used for commercial purposes.
Q. Why did The Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, and The University of Hong Kong initiate the Open Books Hong Kong (OBHK) programme?
A. While Europe and North America are playing a leading role in the transition to open access publishing, there are only a few open access programmes in Asia. Today, it is common for Hong Kong scholars to publish English-language journal articles and books in OA format with international scholarly publishers, but an OA platform for Chinese-language publications is still lacking. OBHK aims to fill this gap to foster knowledge sharing and bibliodiversity.
Q. What is the publishing process for OA books?
A. The publishing process for our OA books follows the same process as the traditional scholarly publishing model: They must go through anonymous peer review and be approved by the university press’s publishing committee; they also receive the same process of copyediting, proofreading, typesetting, design, and marketing as our other scholarly books.
Q. Do OA publications have copyright?
A. OA publications usually use Creative Commons licenses. All books included in the OBHK programme adopt the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, allowing users to download, use, and distribute the book content free of charge, provided that you cite the source, use the content for non-commercial purposes, and do not create derivative works without the author’s permission.
Q. What are the benefits of OA for authors?
A. The lifespan of print books is limited. Many books are out of print within years of publication. In an OA model, books can be available in multiple formats. Since OA publications are completely free, an author’s research results will have a much greater impact and attract more readers, including those in developing regions with limited resources to purchase books.
Q. Do OA books in the OBHK programme have print copies?
A. Yes, all books in the OBHK programme have print copies available for sale on the publisher’s official websites, at bookstores, or through other distribution channels.
Q. What format are the books in this programme?
A. All OA books are available in PDF format, and some are also available in EPUB format.
Q. I would like to use books in this programme in my classroom. Can I distribute them freely to my students?
A. Yes, anyone is welcome to download, use, and share our OA books for free.
Q. Will the OBHK programme release more books in the future?
A. Since its launch in July 2024, the OBHK programme has been welcomed by readers around the world. We have released the second batch of books in October and will release more books in January and April 2025. We also welcome more libraries, publishers, and authors to join the OBHK programme. Through this pilot project, we hope to secure funding to build a new, stable open access publishing model in the future.
If you have any questions or suggestions about OBHK, please email cup@cuhk.edu.hk.