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The Impact of Path to Open: A Sustainable Model for Open Access Publishing

11th August, 2026 in Latest news

Infographic titled “Impact of Path to Open” on a red background. Three dark red panels display key metrics: 1,131% growth in institutional access with a library icon, 886% growth in item requests with a laptop and hand-click icon, and 1,050% growth in global reach with a globe icon. White text and line-art icons contrast against the red design. Two small logos appear in the lower-right corner.

We are proud to be part of Path to Open, a collaborative initiative bringing together 50 university presses and nearly 300 participating libraries to make high-quality scholarly books available to more readers around the world.

Through shared library investment, Path to Open creates a sustainable model for open access publishing. Participating libraries receive early licensed access to new scholarly publications before they become freely available to everyone after three years.

The results show just how powerful this approach can be. According to the latest results, Path to Open has seen 1.131% growth in institutional access (from 245 to 3.015 institutions), 886% growth in item requests (from 26.038 to 256.642 requests), and 1.050% growth in global reach, expanding from 16 to 184 countries.

We have seen that impact reflected in our own Path to Open titles. Since becoming openly available on JSTOR, Ferenczi Dialogues and Living Politics have experienced remarkable growth in readership, with item requests increasing by 1.079% and 725%, respectively. Readership has expanded from 6 to 97 countries.

Slide titled “Impact of Path to Open” on a dark red background. Two book covers appear on the left beside large metrics showing increases in item requests. The first book, Fierce Dialogues on Trauma and Culture, is paired with “1,079% increase in item requests.” The second book, Architecture as Catalyst for Public Space from the Living Politics in the City series, is paired with “725% increase in item requests.” Both statistics are displayed in large white text inside dark red rectangular panels. A small logo appears in the lower-right corner.

Browse our collection on JSTOR, including our open access Path to Open titles: https://www.jstor.org/publisher/lvup#books

Learn more about Path to Open: https://about.jstor.org/products/books/path-to-open