What are Diamond Books? 

Diamond OA books are long-form publications whose form and content are tailored to the needs of the academic community. Books are considered Diamond OA, when they are sustainable and independent in the sense of academic freedom, i.e.  scholar-led: editorial decisions are made within the research community and the infrastructure for publication is, as far as possible, controlled and operated by the research community or research-oriented, non-profit institutions.

Diamond Open Access books are disseminated under an open license and are provided with persistent identifiers. And they are published without paywall and Book Processing Charges (BPCs).

Why diamond books matter in Switzerland

By removing commercial constraints, Diamond OA books allow research outputs to be shaped by scholarly relevance rather than marketability. In a multilingual research environment like Switzerland, this model strengthens bibliodiversity and supports diverse disciplines, languages, and publication formats. 

This approach directly aligns with Objective 6 of the Swiss National Open Access Strategy which calls for the development and strengthening of sustainable, non-commercial publishing models and infrastructures. Diamond OA books contribute to this objective by providing community-governed, publicly supported alternatives to market-driven publishing structures.

Quality Assurance

Diamond OA books follow established academic quality standards. Peer review models may include single-blind, double-blind, or open peer-review processes. Transparent review procedures are essential for indexing in directories such as the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB).

Funding & Costs

Although Diamond OA books do not charge Book Processing Charges (BPCs), publication can still involve costs, including:

• Copyediting and proofreading
• Layout and typesetting
• Cover design
• DOI and ISBN registration
• Metadata preparation
• Long-term archiving
• Platform maintenance

The IPSPs (Institutional Publishing Service Providers) of the Universities in Basel, Bern and Zürich provide researchers at their institutions with open-source infrastructure, namely OMP platforms (Open Monograph Press) and related service packages for Diamond OA book publishing projects. Some of the above-mentioned costs may be covered as part of the service of these platforms.