LIBSENSE Open Access Book Project sparks a new era in academic publishing in Nigeria

A quiet revolution is underway in Nigeria’s academic publishing landscape—one driven by the shift from traditional, closed-access publishing models to Open-Access (OA) book publishing. This is an outcome of the LIBSENSE Open Access Book Project, which catalysed conversations on sustainable, accessible, and innovative models of publishing academic books. 

Like many parts of Africa, Nigeria’s traditional academic book publishing has faced persistent challenges, including limited infrastructure, high production costs, and poor distribution. These challenges make it difficult for local scholars to publish and disseminate their work. This has often left valuable African research underrepresented and inaccessible, calling for a new, relevant approach and a shift to a more sustainable academic publishing option. 

The shift to OA book publishing offers a transformative alternative by removing access barriers and leveraging digital tools to increase visibility, affordability, and reach. OA enables institutions and researchers to take greater control of the publishing process, promote locally relevant knowledge, and align with global movements for more equitable and inclusive academic communication.

The Federal University of Technology Minna (FUTMinna), whose academics participated in the LIBSENSE activity, has received funding support from the Open Book Collective to pioneer open-access book publishing through its Academic Publishing Centre (APC), thus seeding a new move and setting a precedent for innovation in Nigerian academia and beyond. Building on this momentum, APCs from various Nigerian universities have collaborated to develop a national framework for open access academic publishing. This collaborative model is creating a unified vision for the future of scholarly communication in the country.

In line with plans to scale FUTMinna exemplary model, the upcoming Lagos edition of the BookHub Collaborative Authoring Workshop will capacitate Nigerian researchers, academics, authors and publishers with essential knowledge, skills and hands-on training on the BookHub platform (powered by Ketty). The participants of this Workshop are expected to replicate the model and tailor it to fit their local nuances.