America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) are now able to provide their more than 300,000 students and faculty with immediate access to the diverse, groundbreaking university press books being published on JSTOR as part of Path to Open.

Developed in partnership with the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), University of Michigan Press, and University of North Carolina (UNC) Press, Path to Open is a multi-year pilot program designed to increase access to diverse ideas and research through the publication of 1,000 academic books, each of which will become open access three years after initial release. HBCUs and TCUs are invited to join the Path to Open pilot immediately at no cost to them, gaining access to Path to Open books as they are published along with MARC records and supporting materials to help their communities use and engage this scholarship.

Path to Open fees for HBCUs and TCUs are being covered for the full pilot period (2024-2026) through grant funds provided to the University of North Carolina Press by the Mellon Foundation to incentivize and support participation in Path to Open by historically marginalized communities including authors, libraries, and readers.

“HBCUs and TCUs provide critical access to postsecondary education for Black and Indigenous students, and the promise of upward mobility for the vast majority of their students who are eligible for federal Pell grants,” said Rebecca Seger, Vice President, Institutional Participation and Strategic Partnerships. “Despite their critical role in the educational ecosystem, they are consistently challenged to support their students and academic missions with far fewer resources than their peers. We hope this opportunity to join Path to Open enriches the library resources available to their students and faculty today and brings their participation and unique perspectives to our community-wide collaboration as we work to build a sustainable open access model that will bring equitable access to scholarship for all communities.”

“University presses are publishing a growing body of dynamic scholarship originating from HBCUs and TCUs. The resources from the Mellon Foundation will allow scholars and students at these institutions to have immediate access to this cutting-edge body of work while supporting an innovative new model to make open access publishing more sustainable for presses, libraries, and authors,” said John Sherer, the Spangler Family Director of the University of North Carolina Press.

HBCUs and TCUs do not need to be existing JSTOR participants to sign up for this opportunity. Interested institutions are encouraged to contact JSTOR to sign up.