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Directory of Open Access Books

DOAB Foundation
Netherlands
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About

Launched: 2012
Record Updated: Apr 25, 2024
Discovery system
Index or directory
DOAB is a community-driven discovery service that indexes and provides access to scholarly, peer-reviewed open access books and helps users to find trusted open access book publishers. All DOAB services are free of charge and all data is freely available.

Mission

The primary aim of DOAB is to increase discoverability of open access books and to build trust in open access book publishing.

Key Achievements

  • Celebrating 10 years anniversary this year (2023).
  • Established as an independent not-for-profit Dutch Foundation in 2019, jointly governed and managed by OAPEN and OpenEdition.
  • In 2021 DOAB was migrated to DSpace 6 open repository software.
  • In 2022 we launched the Peer Review Information Service for Monographs - PRISM https://doabooks.org/en/librarians/prism and established the DOAB Scientific Committee.
  • In 2023 we have published our POSI principles self-audit https://oapen.hypotheses.org/524
  • In July 2023 we initiated a DOAB in Africa project to increase engagement with African publishers.
  • Currently (Sept. 2023) 70,000+ academic peer-reviewed books indexed from over 600 publishers worldwide.
  • DOAB gathers a network of Trusted Platforms including OAPEN, OpenEdition, Project MUSE, SciELO Books, and JSTOR. Expected to be expanded globally.
  • DOAB is increasingly being used as a data provider for other services, e.g. Open Syllabus and OpenBPC and as a source of reference for quality OA book publishing.

    • Technical Attributes

    Maintenance Status

    Actively maintained

    Technical Documentation

    Implemented
    Website (Opens in new window)

    Open Product Roadmap

    In Progress

    Open API

    Implemented
    Website (Opens in new window)

    Open Data Statement

    Implemented
    Website (Opens in new window)

    Content Licensing

    CC0 (public domain)

    Standards Employed

    ONIX 3.0, MARCXML, KBART, RIS, OAI-PMH See: https://doabooks.org/en/librarians/metadata-harvesting-and-content-dissemination

    Hosting Options & Service Providers

    Hosting Strategy

    Not applicable

    Service Providers

    What other tools and projects does your project interact with?

    Open Syllabus, OpenBPC (Bielefeld), ExLibris (Clarivate), EBSCO, OCLC, OAPEN, OpenEdition, JSTOR, MUSE, SciELO Books, African Platform of Open Scholarship, and thousands of academic libraries and institutions.

    Community Engagement

    Code of Conduct

    Implemented
    Website (Opens in new window)

    Community Engagement

    Implemented

    Contribution Guidelines or Fora

    Implemented
    Website (Opens in new window)

    Organizational Commitment to Community Engagement

    Annual meetings for supporting libraries are held at least twice every November (to accommodate different time zones). At these meetings libraries are invited to give feedback on our technical roadmap and any other topic.

    We have established a library working group focussing on the improvement of metadata in DOAB (and OAPEN).

    Besides this direct engagement, we engage in a numerous of other ways as described in our annual stakeholder reports:

  • 2022: https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/oapen/dd478f92d96840c29ef13c409dc7a7f5.pdf
  • 2021: https://oapen.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/1b26fa21edcd485f927416d4e6ba3db5.pdf
  • 2020: https://oapen.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/ad7e136c2f2e48709541fb6deae579ba.pdf

    • Engagement with Values Frameworks

    OAPEN & DOAB conducted a POSI self-audit in 2022: https://oapen.hypotheses.org/524

    User Contribution Pathways

    • Contribute funds
    • Contribute to working groups or interest groups
    • Other

    Policies & Governance

    Governance Summary

    The Directory of Open Access Books is a service of DOAB Foundation. DOAB Foundation is a non-profit legal entity under Dutch law (‘stichting’), established by OAPEN Foundation and OpenEdition in 2019. It is governed by an Executive Board, Supervisory Board, DOAB Scientific Committee, Scientific Committee Members, and the DOAB Community of Supporting Libraries.

    Policies

    Bylaws

    Implemented
    Website (Opens in new window)

    Commitment to Equity & Inclusion

    Implemented
    Website (Opens in new window)

    Privacy Policy

    Implemented
    Website (Opens in new window)

    Web Accessibility Statement

    Implemented

    Open Data Statement

    Implemented
    Website (Opens in new window)

    Governance Activities

    Implemented
    Website (Opens in new window) Website (Opens in new window)

    Governance Structure & Processes

    Implemented
    Website (Opens in new window)

    Transparent Pricing and Cost Expectations

    Implemented
    Website (Opens in new window)

    Additional Information

    Organizational Structure

    Business or Ownership Model

    Non-profit organization

    Full-time Staff

    4.0

    Funding

    Primary Funding Source

    Other

    Funding Needs

    Further funding will ensure that a truly and fully open infrastructure for academic books will contine to be available as a trust-worthy, effecient, not-for-profit, and community-led alternative to proprietary and commercial services.

    Further funding is needed to make DOAB a truly global service advancing equitable open access scholarly publishing and distribution. This requires:

    1. Resilient technical infrastructure.
    2. Global outreach and engagement.
    3. Establishing a global partner network
    4. Evaluation guidelines and training
    5. Development of efficient and trust-based workflows centrally and locally (with partners).

    DOAB has two funding streams for its operations:

    1. Library support (~90%)
    2. Sponsorships (~10%)
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