International audience

This paper analyses usage statistics, citation data and altmetrics from a university press publishing open access monographs. The bibliometric data is then contrasted to the outcome of a survey of attitudes and behaviour among authors and editors who have published open access books. The metrics indicate that downloads and citations depend on the community of practice of the intended audience within each specific academic discipline, as well as the content itself. There is, for example, a clear difference in usage patterns between monographs and anthologies. The altmetric data used in the study indicate how users interact with the published books online. The data suggests, despite the small sample, that authors can to a greater extent influence how their book is discovered by the readership. It would, therefore, be relevant for authors to become more aware of the type of metrics available and how they can be interpreted and used for better understanding of how the book can reach its intended audience. Further studies are needed, and publishers of open access books are encouraged to share data for benchmarking and development of best practices.