Developing a Pilot Data Trust for Open Access Ebook Usage. Building an international data trust to improve the measurement and analysis of Open Access (OA) books. Logos for University of Michigan Library, Educopia Institute, Book Industry Study Group, University of North Texas


2020-2021

Developing a Pilot Data Trust for Open Access Ebook Usage

Exploring Open Access eBook Usage (OAeBU)

This two-year project acted upon the recommendations documented within the “Exploring Open Access Ebook Usage” white paper published by the Book Industry Study Group in 2019.  The international project team and its advisors developed and tested open infrastructure, policy and governance models to support a diverse, global data trust for usage data on open access (OA) monographs. The international cooperative developed a proof of concept usage data repository for data aggregation and aggregate usage data dashboards for four university presses, a commercial publisher, and a digital OA book library.  The team worked to support practices that align with the priorities of authors and institutions while respecting emerging ethical norms in the use of metrics. More information about the project is available within the grant narrative and Data Management Plan.

Project’s discussion forums and working groups allowed stakeholders to provide input to the project team and its advisors. Updates were posted to the project announcement list and to @OAeBU_Project on Twitter. By 2022, planning for the multi-platform usage data aggregation, benchmarking and exchange effort (oabookusage.org) separated from usage data dashboard service development (Book Analytics Dashboard Project).

Project Deliverables

Final published versions of files and presentations post to the Open Access eBook Usage Data Trust Zenodo community page. Frequently requested files include: 

Technical deliverables related to the data dashboard pilots compiled by the project’s technical team at Curtin University include:

Educopia’s Role

As a partner on this project, Educopia is facilitating the development of a governance structure and legal architecture for the data trust, and employing the Data Trust Program Officer.