University of Colorado Boulder Libraries has committed funds to support peer-reviewed, open access monographs through our CU Boulder Open Monograph Fund. This fund is based on and is an extension of the Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem (TOME), which CU Boulder participated in during its trial period.

CU Boulder Libraries has pledged to support four peer-reviewed, open access monographs in the 2023/24 fiscal year.

Each grant awarded will be contributed directly to a press participating in the program for an open access publication of an eligible CU Boulder faculty-authored work.

Please contact Melissa Cantrell with questions about the CU Boulder Open Monograph Fund.

Application Process

Applications are submitted by the press publishing the monograph. Applications will be internally reviewed as they are received. If any clarifications and/or edits need to be made to the application in order to receive a subvention grant, the author(s) and the press will be notified.

CU Boulder Open Monograph Fund Application Form

Deadline(s) for submission

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, but because of limited funding it is encouraged for the participating press to submit an application as soon as an eligible monograph and author are identified.

CU Boulder Open Monograph Fund Criteria

  • Open access monograph proposals authored or co-authored by a current CU Boulder faculty member.

  • At this time, the grant fund will not accept textbooks, works of fiction, creative works, edited anthologies and collections, translations of previously published works, or critical editions.

  • Projects must have a written acceptance for open access publication from a university press.

OA Edition and Press Requirements

  • The press will publish a platform-agnostic and accessible digital edition of the monograph under a Creative Commons license (CC BY or CC BY-NC) no later than the original date of publication.

  • A CC BY license is preferred when possible.

  • This edition must be free from DRM (Digital Rights Management).

  • The press will mint a Digital Object Identifier (“DOI”) for the Book that enables users to find the Open Access Version.

  • The press will provide a copy of the digital edition for deposit in CU Boulder’s Institutional Repository, CU Scholar.

  • The press may print and sell a print edition. If the press sells a print edition, a link to the open access digital edition must be made available alongside information about the print edition wherever possible, including on the publisher’s website.

  • The open access digital edition and any print edition(s) must include a copyright page bearing the Creative Commons license that applies to the work and an acknowledgment of CU Boulder’s funding and the TOME program. This information should appear in a font at least as large as the copyright notice.

  • The final digital publication must be made accessible via WCAG 2.0 or 2.1 requirements.

  • The press will distribute and make the open access monograph available on selected platforms, which may include but are not limited to: Directory of Open Access Books, HathiTrust Digital Library, Internet Archive, JSTOR’s Open Content, MUSE Open, OAPEN Library.

  • The press will provide a final invoice to CU Boulder. 

  • The press will provide a copy of the fully executed contract with the author within thirty (30) days of execution.