Path to Open Transitions from Promising Pilot to Established Program for Open Access Monographs

ACLS celebrates the successful transition of Path to Open, a community-supported open access monograph program by JSTOR, from a pilot to an ongoing program.

On April 29, 2026, JSTOR announced this latest advancement for Path to Open, which launched as a pilot in October 2023 to test whether a collaborative model could sustainably scale open access for humanities and social sciences monographs.

Exceeding expectations, Path to Open currently includes nearly 300 participating libraries, more than 50 university presses and scholarly publishers, and will reach 1,000 titles by the end of 2026.

Hosted by JSTOR, part of the nonprofit ITHAKA, Path to Open was conceived by and built in collaboration with university press leaders and ACLS, which convenes the Path to Open Community Advisory Committee. Comprising open access authors and leaders from the academic publishing and library sectors, the committee provides guidance in further developing the model and ensuring it continues to center bibliodiversity, equity, sustainability, and transparency in open access book publication.