The University of North Texas is creating an international data trust, which is expected to improve the measurement and analysis of open access book usage through a $1.2 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
UNT is leading an international team in the first of its kind scholarly publishing project which will allow universities and publishers to share and analyze data on open access works, according to a statement. The two-year project highlights an area of interest for the university as UNT was the first Texas public institution to enact a policy in support of open access and has hosted an annual Open Access Symposium since 2010.
“Advancing accessibility to research is a priority for UNT as a Tier One research university,” Diane Bruxvoort, dean of UNT Libraries, said in a statement. “We are proud to remain on the forefront as leaders in open access.”
The project will be led by UNT librarian Kevin Hawkins and conducted in partnership with the Educopia Institute, Curtin University, University of Michigan, and the Book Industry Study Group. The team plans to compile e-book usage data and standardize analysis and reporting tools with the goal of facilitating academic data sharing of open access materials. The project is expected to fill a gap in open access material practices as there is no current system for collecting usage data, according to a statement.
“Open access to scholarly literature has developed more slowly for academic books than for journals,” Hawkins, who serves as assistant dean for scholarly communication at UNT Libraries, said in a statement. “The data trust will be designed to ensure responsible use of e-book metrics and will be a vital source of insight into the ways scholarly books are being accessed and used, and the impact of the knowledge they contain.”
Get on the list.
Dallas Innovates, every day.
Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day.
R E A D N E X T
-
Learn the ways medical school classrooms are looking more and more futuristic by incorporating simulation learning into their curriculums.
-
Broadening Urban Investment to Leverage Dallas (B.U.I.L.D.)—launched last year by the City of Dallas, DEC@Redbird, and more than 200 Dallas County business service organizations—will continue its grant program that serves as a catalyst to Southern Dallas’ small business owners of color and women business owners.
-
UNT hopes its cloud-based computer program called RE-PLAN will be able to solve equitable distribution issues that often accompany a speedy rollout. The technology, which uses sourced data to allow public health agencies to craft response plans, will be dispensed with an urgency to target special demographics communities, like people who have disabilities, don't speak English, and don't have cars.
-
Two nonprofits will each receive $250,000 in grant funding. The Capital One grants are part of a $3.5 million commitment to 12 nonprofit organizations.
-
The 20-year Energy Savings Performance Contract will focus on a modernization project for cooling demand at the university’s health research labs.
![Erica Kosemund, Chief Brand Officer, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Gillian Breidenbach, Chief Partnership Officer, North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; Chief Gary Batton, Chief of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Monica Paul, Executive Director of Dallas Sports Commission and President of North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; John Hobbs, Senior Executive Officer of Communications, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; and Heidi Grant, Senior Executive Officer of Commerce Administration, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, celebrate Choctaw Casinos & Resorts becoming an Official Dallas World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter. [Photo: North Texas FWC Organizing Committee/Choctaw Casinos & Resorts]](https://s24806.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/FIFA-Choctaw-dec-2025.jpg)
