Reflecting on publishing and research culture during Open Access week 2025 – with Dr Karen Attar

At the University of London Press, we have been reflecting on recent conversations in the sector about research culture, what this means for the humanities, the potential benefits of open access, the role of publishing and our own role as a publisher.

In this series of blog posts, recent UoL Press authors share their own publishing experiences and words of advice and support for new authors, along with their views on open access and what more publishers can do to work with the research community to help build supportive, collaborative and open research and publishing cultures.

In our next post in the series, we talk to Karen Attar, co-editor of Books, Readers and Libraries in Fiction. Karen Attar is the Curator of Rare Books and University Art at Senate House Library, University of London, and a former Research Fellow at the Institute of English Studies, University of London. She edited among other works the third edition of the Directory of Rare Book and Special Collections in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (Facet, 2016). She has published widely on aspects of library history.

1. Tell us about your book with UoL Press.
   
   My book was a co-edited book with Andrew Nash of the Institute of English Studies. It is called Books, Readers and Libraries and Fiction. Academic interest in what and how actual people read is booming. The reference to books in fiction is one sign of reception and is basically an indication of a book’s popular success, as novel writers will expect readers to know the books being talked about. So we took reception theory to another level to look at how fictitious people read, and the messages to us. The book starts with the Middle Ages and ends with Terry Pratchett. Some chapters cover single items, others entire genres.
   
   
2. What advice do you have for authors looking to publish their first book?
   
   Select a reputable publisher within your subject area, as some people, including librarians with limited budgets, will look at the publisher to help assess the quality of the book (for example, we all buy from the major academic publishers; few libraries buy from publishers who specialize in publishing doctoral theses). And don’t pay for your book to be published! If you have to pay, it’s probably a sign that the book is not worth publishing. (Harsh, but true.) I also suggest chatting to other people who have published recently with various publishers about their experiences. I emphasise ‘recently’, as what a publisher brings to the partnership between author and publisher can change markedly after a publisher takeover.
   
   
3. What do you think the benefits of publishing your book open access are or will be?
   
   For us, producing an edited volume, I think the huge advantage was enabling people easily to download and read single chapters. The nature of our book was such that interest extended beyond academic audiences with easy access to a printed book in libraries to fan clubs in specific areas, such as devotees of detective fiction, girls’ school stories, or Terry Pratchett. Open access publication helped us to reach those audiences. Once there, these people may branch out. One of my sisters read my chapter because it was mine, then read Lucy Sixsmith’s chapter on Sue Bridehead’s Bible in Jude the Obscure because she and several friends at her church are interested in reading the Bible chronologically. It’s fabulous knowledge transfer.
   
   
4. Has anything about the process of publishing your book open access been a surprise in any way?
   
   The process in itself was not a surprise. What surprised me most was the change of my attitude between the traditional print model and open access. When the possibility of open access entered the publishing scene I was opposed to it because it meant no royalties and because I perceived it as a way by which low-quality work could be published. In fact, the publishing bar is every bit as rigorous with an open access publisher as with any other, and the editing at UoLP was extremely attentive. Royalties aren’t an issue because they are so low for an academic book however it is published. I was amused at my volte-face at wanting to publish open access for the sake of the authors currently in academia. It is also surprisingly gratifying to be able to see metrics.
   
   
5. The theme of International Open Access week is ‘Who Owns Our Knowledge?’ Why do you think this is an important question for humanities researchers and how does that influence your publishing choices?
   
   I see the question as philosophically important in grounding us. Scholars are in their own way service professionals: our motivation is not just that we enjoy it and are convinced of the value of our research, but we are serving others, and that means making the results of our work readily available. From a practical viewpoint, research assessment exercises are in favour of open access publishing. And I must say I prefer to make available a publication in its final form than as a typescript in institutional research space.