PALOMERA project presents results and methodology at its final conference
Dedicated to Open Access books, the project, integrated by UC, is due to end in December this year
The PALOMERA project is dedicated to understanding why so few Open Access policies are dedicated to books and to provide recommendations for changing this reality. The project is integrated by UC and funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101094270).
With a duration of two years, the project began in January 2023 and is due to end in December 2024. To mark the final stretch of work undertaken by a consortium of 16 partners around the European Research Area, PALOMERA will hold its final conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 28-29 October. The conference will explore the work carried out by the project, delving into its methodology, presenting the results and offering a deep dive into its recommendations.
Attendance at the conference is free, and registration for face-to-face participation is still open.
- In-person participation: There are still a few places left to participate in person, and registration can be done via this link. The deadline for in-person registration is 11 October. In-person places are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Online participation: There is also the option of registering for online streaming via the same link. The deadline for online registration is 23 October. Many places are available in this modality.
The full conference programme can be consulted via this link. The first day will be dedicated to the results of the project and a deep dive into its recommendations. The second day will be dedicated to the 4th Funders Forum meeting, consisting of 2 closed workshops. The day will end with a closed consortium meeting between the project partners.
Event for researchers in October
On the 2nd of October, OABN (Open Access Books Network), which is one of the project members, is holding an online event with four authors of open access books to hear about their publishing experiences and how they have dealt with political mandates to publish in Open Access. The event is part of the Open Access Books Network's PALOMERA Series.
During the session, Jenneke van der Wal (University of Leiden), Arturs Logins (University of Laval), Evi Agostini (University of Vienna) and Miloud Belkoniene (University of Zurich) will share the process of publishing their OA books, from choosing a publisher to openly sharing the book, and whether this was different from their other publishing experiences. The organisers will delve into the advantages and disadvantages of political mandates from the author's perspective: what difference did it make to be subject to a political mandate (or not)? What advice and/or funding was available throughout the process, and what were the challenges? What support would they like to have had, and what would they do differently next time? And how has the experience of publishing a book in Open Access influenced the authors' vision of open access?
Registrations can be made via this link. More information about the event here.
Presentation of available results: survey report
One of the most recent outputs published by the PALOMERA project is the report resulting from a survey, addressed to various stakeholder groups across the European Research Area, aimed at identifying attitudes and levels of knowledge about open access book policies in general and individual measures in particular.
The report presents the results and overview of the survey, which was divided into six sections: 1) General information about the respondents; 2) Knowledge of open access policy measures; 3) Stakeholders and actors; 4) Attitudes towards the design of open access policies for books; 5) Attitudes and policy measures for open access books; and 6) Policy measures.
The report is available in open access on Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13607261
Series on PALOMERA members interviews UC team member
In September, the series ‘Take 5 with PALOMERA partners’, dedicated to introducing the project members with 5 questions and a quick read, interviewed one of the UC team members, researcher Nelson Ferreira, from CECH.
In the interview, Ferreira talks about the teamwork carried out, the most important results of the project, the role of universities in PALOMERA and how the project will impact the political landscape of Open Access books.
Read the full interview here.
Follow up
To keep up to date with the PALOMERA project, you can sign up to the project's mailing list and Linkedin group. The links are available on this page.