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I am delighted to pass along information about the joint effort of three Hong Kong Universities to begin to offer their published work free and open access through Open Books HK. The first batch of 9 books has just been made available. The next batch is expected by the end of 2024. The website announcement explains the project:
知識無價 免費獲取
本先導計劃由香港中文大學、香港城市大學和香港大學三家高等教育院校的圖書館與出版社聯合發起，是香港首個開放取用（open access）圖書計劃。
本計劃將陸續推出三家大學出版社出版的中文學術著作，免費開放予公眾閱覽、下載、取用和傳播。 本計劃收入之圖書均經過匿名學術評審，並採用創用CC授權條款CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0。「知識無價，免費獲取。」我們希望透過此計劃，與世界分享香港出版的學術研究成果，推動學界積極參與全球知識開放運動，讓公眾受益。
Knowledge is priceless and available for free
This pilot project is jointly launched by the libraries and publishing houses of three higher education institutions: the Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong. It is the first open access book project in Hong Kong.
This project will gradually release Chinese academic works published by three university presses, which will be free and open to the public for reading, downloading, access and dissemination. The books included in this project have undergone anonymous academic review and are licensed under the Creative Commons license CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. "Knowledge is priceless and available for free." Through this program, we hope to share the academic research results published in Hong Kong with the world, promote the academic community to actively participate in the global knowledge openness movement, and benefit the public.
More information follows below for those interested along with links to the initial release of nine books and FAQs (常見問題; in English and Chinese).
知識無價 免費獲取
開讀（Open Books Hong Kong）先導計劃由香港中文大學、香港城市大學和香港大學三間高等教育院校的圖書館與出版社聯合發起。這是香港首個開放取用（open access）圖書計劃，旨在開放學術成果、創建健康公平的知識傳播生態。
本計劃於2024年7月17日推出由三間大學出版社出版的九本中文圖書，免費開放予公眾閱讀、下載、取用和傳播。圖書內容涵蓋歷史、哲學、宗教、法學、人類學、性別研究等人文社科多個領域。數月後將有第二批圖書加入計劃，向公眾開放。
開讀計劃不僅展示了香港高等教育院校致力於「開放知識」的決心，亦是中文學術圖書開放取用的新嘗試。計劃目前在探索期，希望未來能持續開放優質中文著作，與世界分享香港出版的研究成果。近年來，教資會積極推動開放取用，期待本計劃能夠推動學界積極參與全球知識開放運動，並讓社會大眾受益。
作為中國和世界間的橋樑，香港可以發揮促進跨文化交流的作用。作為計劃發起人之一，香港中文大學圖書館館長文奈爾（Benjamin Meunier）指出，雖然開放取用在香港尚屬起步階段，但未來可期 。他說：「開讀計劃充分體現了香港的前瞻性思維，為全球讀者提供了一個知識寶庫。」
Knowledge is priceless and available for free
The Open Books Hong Kong pilot project is jointly launched by the libraries and publishing houses of three higher education institutions: the Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong. This is Hong Kong’s first open access book project, which aims to open up academic results and create a healthy and fair knowledge dissemination ecosystem.
This project will launch nine Chinese books published by three university presses on July 17, 2024, which will be free and open to the public for reading, downloading, access and dissemination. The content of the books covers history, philosophy, religion, law, anthropology, gender studies and other fields of humanities and social sciences. A second batch of books will be added to the program and made available to the public in a few months.
The Open Reading Project not only demonstrates the determination of Hong Kong higher education institutions to be committed to "open knowledge", but is also a new attempt to open access to Chinese academic books. The plan is currently in the exploratory phase, and we hope to continue to open up high-quality Chinese works in the future and share the research results published in Hong Kong with the world. In recent years, the UGC has actively promoted open access and hopes that this plan will promote the academic community to actively participate in the global knowledge openness movement and benefit the general public.
As a bridge between China and the world, Hong Kong can play a role in promoting cross-cultural exchanges. As one of the initiators of the plan, Benjamin Meunier, Director of the Library of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, pointed out that although open access is still in its infancy in Hong Kong, the future is promising. He said: "The Open Reading Program fully reflects Hong Kong's forward-thinking and provides a treasure trove of knowledge for readers around the world."
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常見問題
Q. 什麼是開放取用（Open Access）?
A. 開放取用（Open Access）是指免費、即時、不受限制地在線獲取經同行評審的研究成果和學術著作。開放取用使全球讀者能免費獲取學術成果，推動知識進步，並提升學術成果的影響力。
Q. 香港中文大學、香港城市大學和香港大學為何要發起「開讀」計劃？
A. 開放取用在歐洲發展最快，在北美也有不少嘗試，但在亞洲還剛剛開始，很多人不清楚什麼是開放取用，甚至存在不少誤解。香港學者可以和國際出版社合作開放自己的英文期刊文章或書籍，但要開放中文書則並沒有類似的平台。「開讀」是本地第一個開放取用中文圖書的先導計劃。此次三家大學聯合發起「開讀」計劃，正是為了推動香港乃至中國的開放取用出版。我們也希望通過這個計劃可以讓中文學術走向世界各個角落，增加書目多樣性。
Q. 開放取用圖書的出版流程是什麼樣的？
A. 和傳統的學術出版模式一樣，開放取用圖書一樣要經過同行專家的匿名評審，經由各自大學出版社的出版委員會批准後方可出版；同樣要經歷嚴格的編輯、校對、排版、設計等專業工作。本計劃所有圖書的實體書也會在市場上發售。讀者下載到的電子檔和實體書的內容是一樣的，唯一的區別是沒有最後的印刷步驟。
Q. 開放取用的出版物有版權嗎？
A. 開放取用的出版物是有版權的，一般採用創用CC授權，作者可選擇具體條款。「開讀」計劃所有圖書均採取CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0，使用者可以在遵守授權條款的規定下免費下載、使用和傳播圖書內容，但必須清楚標明來源、不得將內容用於商業行為，也不可未經作者允許創作衍生作品。
Q. 開放取用對作者有什麼好處？
A. 實體書的生命是有限的，一般在出版數年後會面臨脫印的可能。而電子書可以永遠存在，隨時傳遞到世界各地的讀者手中。由於開放取用完全免費，作者的研究成果將會產生更大的影響、獲得更多的讀者，包括購買力有限的發展中地區的讀者。
Q. 本計劃圖書是否有實體書？
A. 本計劃所有圖書均有實體書，在出版社官網、書展、書店或其他渠道有售。
Q. 本計劃電子書的形式是什麼？
A. 本計劃電子書均提供PDF格式免費下載，部分圖書也有EPUB格式，方便讀者在電腦、手機、平板等各種電子設備上閱讀。
Q. 本人希望在自己教授的課程中使用本計劃的圖書，是否能發送給學生使用？
A. 可以。本計劃所有圖書是開放取用形式，歡迎所有人免費下載、使用、傳播。
Q. 「開讀」計劃未來是否還會繼續開放圖書？
A. 我們會在2024年第四季開放第二批圖書，具體數量尚未確定。我們也歡迎更多的圖書館、出版界同仁和作者加入「開讀」計劃，共同推進開放知識的潮流。通過這個先導計劃，我們期待未來獲得穩定的資金支持、搭建一個較完善的新平台，每年開放一部分優質學術書。
如您對本計劃有任何疑問或建議，歡迎電郵至cup@cuhk.edu.hk
common problem
Q. What is Open Access?
A. Open Access refers to free, immediate, unrestricted online access to peer-reviewed research results and academic works. Open access makes academic results freely available to readers around the world, advances knowledge, and increases the impact of academic results.
Q. Why did the Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong launch the "Open Reading" program?
A. Open access is developing fastest in Europe, and there are many attempts in North America. However, it has just begun in Asia. Many people do not know what open access is, and there are even many misunderstandings. Hong Kong scholars can cooperate with international publishers to open up their English journal articles or books, but there is no similar platform for opening up Chinese books. "Open Reading" is the first local pilot project for open access to Chinese books. The three universities jointly launched the "Open Reading" project this time to promote open access publishing in Hong Kong and even China. We also hope that through this plan, Chinese academics can reach all corners of the world and increase the diversity of bibliographies.
Q. What is the publishing process for open access books?
A. Like the traditional academic publishing model, open access books must undergo anonymous review by peer experts and be approved by the publishing committee of the respective university press before they can be published; they also must undergo rigorous editing, proofreading, typesetting, design and other professional processes Work. Physical copies of all books in this program will also be available on the market. The content of the electronic file downloaded by the reader is the same as that of the physical book. The only difference is that there is no final printing step.
Q. Are open access publications copyrighted?
A. Open access publications are copyrighted and generally licensed under Creative Commons, and the author can choose specific terms. All books in the "Open Reading" project adopt CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. Users can download, use and disseminate book content for free under the terms of the license, but must clearly indicate the source and must not use the content for commercial purposes. , nor may you create derivative works without the author's permission.
Q. What are the benefits of open access to authors?
A. The life of physical books is limited, and they generally face the possibility of being out of print after a few years of publication. E-books can exist forever and be delivered to readers around the world at any time. Because open access is completely free, authors' research results will have a greater impact and reach a wider audience, including readers in developing regions with limited purchasing power.
Q. Are there physical books for this project?
A. All books in this plan are available in physical books and are sold on the publisher’s official website, book fairs, bookstores or other channels.
Q. What is the format of the e-book in this plan?
A. All e-books in this plan are available for free download in PDF format, and some books are also available in EPUB format, which is convenient for readers to read on various electronic devices such as computers, mobile phones, and tablets.
Q. I want to use the books in this program in the courses I teach. Can I send them to students for use?
A. Yes. All books in this plan are open access and everyone is welcome to download, use and disseminate them for free.
Q. Will the "Open Reading" program continue to open books in the future?
A. We will open the second batch of books in the fourth quarter of 2024, and the specific number has not yet been determined. We also welcome more colleagues in libraries, publishing industries and authors to join the "Open Reading" project and jointly promote the trend of open knowledge. Through this pilot plan, we expect to receive stable financial support in the future, build a relatively complete new platform, and release a portion of high-quality academic books every year.
If you have any questions or suggestions about this program, please email cup@cuhk.edu.hk
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