This collection of articles provides insights into the benefits and rationale behind publishing open access books, particularly highlighting diverse success stories of open access authors.
Publishing open access books offers significant advantages such as increased readership, wider distribution and higher impact, enabling both academic and non-academic audiences to access the books freely. Open access benefits early career researchers by boosting visibility, expanding ethical research sharing and enhancing citation opportunities, although challenges such as costs and publisher quality must be considered.
Despite misconceptions about the quality of open access, the growing support from funders and successful case studies highlight its potential for real-world impact, scholarly advancement and broader audience engagement.