Springer Nature SDG Programme

Open Access Books: Supporting the SDGs

Open access (OA) advances research on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals—as OA easily connects researchers and their work to policy makers, business leaders, and professionals who can put discoveries into practice.

SN SDG logo © Springer Nature 2019When most people think about this, they’re thinking about journal articles and primary research. But what’s true of journal articles is also true of books. Open access books are easy to find and share, allowing for authors to increase the real-world impact of their work.

Take a closer look and read interviews with OA book authors that illustrate how publishing their books OA has extended their impact and reach. 

On this page you will also find selected highlights from Springer Nature’s SDG OA book portfolio, information on why you too should publish OA, and resources on OA funding.

“The UN SDGs address complex global issues and will require cross-sector, cross-discipline and international collaboration if we are to achieve them by 2030. OA publication enables academic books to be read by anyone, anywhere, with an internet connection, facilitating the development of solutions by the people who are best placed to implement them.”

—Nicola Jones, Head of Publishing, Springer Nature SDG Programme

What are authors saying about OA books?

Catherine Butler

Catherine Butler

University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

Author of Energy Poverty, Practice, and Policy

"Never has it been more important to understand the dynamics of energy poverty and re-examine our ways of understanding the issues." Read the interview

Michael Wehmeyer

Michael Wehmeyer

Department of Special Education, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA

Co-Editor of The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Education

"Through open access, many more people around the world have access to the ideas and strategies presented in the Handbook, which we believe will facilitate the growth of the field." Read the interview

Andrea Membretti

Andrea Membretti

Assistant Professor, Universitz of Pavia, Italy
Jess Delves
Global Mountain Safeguard Research (GLOMOS), Bolzano, Italy
Editors of the book Sustainable Futures in Southern Africa's Mountains

"OA is a great opportunity to reach a wider audience, particularly beyond a purely academic sphere" Read the interview

Matthew Reynolds

Matthew Reynolds

Wheat Physiology, Global Wheat program, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Texcoco, Mexico

Co-Editor of the book Wheat Improvement: Food Security in a Changing Climate

"Open access allows for the whole volume to be shared electronically and printed locally." Read the interview

Links to further interviews can be found at the bottom of this page as well as on our SDG-specific OA book pages.

Why publish a book with Springer Nature? And why publish it OA?

Writing a book is a meaningful investment of time—but the return on that investment, especially for SDG-related research—is even more meaningful. When you publish your book with Springer Nature, you will get powerful editorial support at every stage—from proposal through post-publication.

Why publish OA?
Because our OA academic books and chapters on average receive 10 times more downloads, 2.4 times more citations, and 10 times more online mentions compared to non-open access books.
OA books have a more geographically diverse readership, reaching on average 61% more countries than non-OA books.*

We look forward to publishing your OA book and helping you achieve your goals.

Learn more about how to get started

* From our white papers 'The OA Effect: How does open access affect the usage of scholarly books?' and 'Diversifying readership through open access: A usage analysis for OA books'.

  • Increased visibility & discoverability
  • High quality
  • Authors retain copyright
  • Compliance with funder mandates

Have an idea for a book? Take the next step. Contact us.

Let us guide you through the book publishing process. We would love to hear from you to discuss your book idea. 

Submit your book proposal


Highlighted open access books from across the SDGs

Watch our open access book videos

Why publish an open access book?

How does it work? Open access books in 6 steps

 

Ready to publish? Send us your book proposal using this form

Open access funding opportunities

To plan ahead for paying your OA book processing charge (BPC), you can use Springer Nature’s Open Access Funding Service. This free service will work with you to help find funds for paying open access BPCs that you have through your institution or other funding sources.

As a Springer Nature OA book author, you can also take advantage of a sponsorship agreement between LYRASIS and Springer Nature.

The collaboration focuses on climate change, equity, peace, and justice and provides free access to research in critical areas that support the SDGs.

Blog posts relating to open research and the SDGs

Recent relevant blog posts from Springboard - the latest views, comments and discussions from Springer Nature and our partners around the drive towards advancing open research, and from The Source - our blog providing insight and discussion on publishing in the academic world.

Interviews with authors of SDG-related open access books

Dr. Hugo Campos

Dr. Hugo Campos

"OA is about reaching people who cannot afford books in developing countries, about enabling others to be successful" Read the interview

Justin W. Cook

Justin W. Cook

"We have seen tremendous engagement with the book that we otherwise likely would not have achieved without open access" Read the interview

Dr. Sven Teske

Dr. Sven Teske

"I would encourage more academics to publish open access" Read the interview

Prof. Emeritus Maurice B. Mittelmark

Prof. Emeritus Maurice B. Mittelmark

"OA is the only publishing model that ensures an academic book will achieve deep and timely penetration of my academic arena" Read the interview

Dr. Anthony Good

Dr. Anthony Good

"This book comes at a crucial time for Europe. OA has made it more widely accessible" Read the interview

Dr. Stefano Della Torre

Dr. Stefano Della Torre

"Open access is a terrific booster to make academic research available" Read the interview

Prof. Dave Reay

Prof. Dave Reay

"If you want your book to reach around the world and inform a readership you’d never normally be able to speak to then open access is for you." 
Read the interview

Catherine Butler

Catherine Butler

"Never has it been more important to understand the dynamics of energy poverty and re-examine our ways of understanding the issues" Read the interview

Michael Wehmeyer

Michael Wehmeyer

"Through open access, many more people around the world have access to the ideas and strategies presented in the Handbook, which we believe will facilitate the growth of the field" Read the interview

Rajeev Varshney

Rajeev Varshney

"The high downloads we have seen for our books would not have been possible without open access" Read the interview

Andrea Membretti

Andrea Membretti

"OA is a great opportunity to reach a wider audience, particularly beyond a purely academic sphere" Read the interview

Teiji Nakamura

Teiji Nakamura

"It has been of great benefit to be able to communicate the history, characteristics and significance of Japan Nutrition." Read the interview

Tsunao Watanabe

Tsunao Watanabe

"With OA we can better inform about policies and practices to facilitate action towards more sustainable futures." Read the interview

Patrick Huntjens

Patrick Huntjens

"I consider open access publishing not only a moral duty, but also an ethical commitment to make my work equally available to anyone who has an interest." Read the interview

Matthew Reynolds

Matthew Reynolds

"Open access allows for the whole volume to be shared electronically and printed locally." Read the interview