TOME supports the work of university presses by providing grants for scholarly monographs that are deserving of publication but increasingly difficult to publish due to market-based concerns.
TOME makes the work of humanities and social science faculty more widely available both inside and outside the academy, which advances the core mission of colleges and universities to create and transmit new knowledge for public benefit.
TOME’s mission is twofold: 1) to harness the potential of digital publishing technologies to increase access to book-length research in the humanities and social sciences and 2) to ensure the long-term economic viability of the scholarly publishing system.
To accomplish our mission we believe it is essential to change the way monograph publishing is funded. The reality is that university presses can no longer cover the costs of publishing specialized monographs through sales alone. Likewise, it is unreasonable to expect humanities and social sciences fields to adopt a STEM-style author-pays system. For these reasons, we believe that the only rational solution to the scholarly monograph dilemma is a system of institutionally funded faculty book subsidies that retains the same commitment to editorial excellence while guaranteeing global access through open access editions.
Of course, such a solution cannot be formulated and implemented overnight, which is why we seek partners and collaborators committed to fundamental change. TOME is eager to work with other open monograph initiatives that share the same vision of bringing together scholars, universities, libraries, and presses in pursuit of a common goal—a sustainable open monograph ecosystem. In short, TOME is a movement not a club.
Discover Research from TOME
Here you will find just a few of the latest monographs published with TOME funding.
TOME is part of a growing movement to open up scholarly research to the world. As such we support the work of other initiatives and, wherever possible, hope to collaborate with them.
The Sustainable History Monograph Pilot (SHMP) is a Mellon-funded initiative to publish open digital editions of high-quality books from university presses in the field of history.
Recognizing the university press community’s essential contributions to humanities infrastructure will be crucial as institutions and funders plan for the future, write Charles Watkinson, University of Michigan Press, and Melissa Pitts, University of British Columbia Press, in Inside Higher Ed.
In 2017 Virginia Tech joined eleven other American universities in the launch of a 5-year pilot project called TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem)—a bold new effort to change the landscape of scholarly book publishing. To date, Virginia Tech has funded a total of 10 monographs by faculty in the College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences (CLAHS) and the College of Architecture & Urban Studies (CAUS).
Penn State University Libraries to Host TOME Author Discussions during Open Access Week
Penn State University Libraries is holding two virtual panel discussions on October 20-21 with Penn State authors who have published open access monographs through TOME. Seven authors will discuss their research and the impact of having their work made openly available.
Read about the recent TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem) stakeholders meeting and about recent reports from @OASPA in this blog post from @msupress.
December: Scott Kugle’s chronicle of Sufi journeys in Islamic thought will also be available in an open-access enhanced edition thanks to @openmonographs, @EmoryUniversity, and @MellonFdn https://t.co/yop6sretFU
Newly released, “Healing with Poisons” by @Yan_Liu_HistMed explores the ways physicians, religious figures, court officials, and laypersons used toxic substances to relieve acute illnesses and enhance life from the Era of Division to the Tang. @openmonographs @UBLibraries
#ReadUp
If you are an author, publisher, librarian, or administrator, we want to hear from you. Use this form to send your comments, questions, or suggestions to Peter Potter, ARL visiting program officer for TOME.
