| Abstract: | This article describes an experiment to measure the impact of open access (OA) publishing of academic books. During a period of nine months, three sets of 100 books were disseminated through an institutional repository, the Google Book Search program, or both channels. A fourth set of 100 books was used as control group. OA publishing enhances discovery and online consultation. Within the context of the experiment, no relation could be found between OA publishing and citation rates. Contrary to expectations, OA publishing does not stimulate or diminish sales figures. The Google Book Search program is superior to the repository. |
