The UOC expands its open-access collection to include almost one thousand books

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has taken another step forward in the dissemination of knowledge by adding 800 new titles published by Editorial UOC to the UOC's O2 Repository. These new titles, which are a significant addition to the open-access collection, will boost the visibility and international impact of the university's academic publications.

The new titles are joining the almost 200 books already available in open access in the repository, bringing the size of the catalogue to almost one thousand open-access works. The collection will continue to grow with the gradual addition of both new publications and items from previous years. This expansion, which provides clear evidence of the UOC's dedication to providing open access to academic knowledge and the results of research, places it among the universities with the strongest commitment to the dissemination of open knowledge.

The action is in line with UNESCO's recommendations, which support the open-access publication of academic books and research monographs to ensure more equitable access to knowledge and help reduce the digital divide, as set forth in the Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (2019) and the Recommendation on Open Science (2021).

The initiative is part of the UOC's open knowledge policy and plan, which aim to ensure that any member of society can access, reuse and share the university's academic output. In this context, the UOC's O2 Repository has become a leading platform for the dissemination of resources such as books, scientific papers, doctoral theses and teaching materials. It also complies with the university's academic publishing policy led by the Culture department and the Office of the Vice Rector for Alliances, Community and Culture. 

"Open science is not just a matter of ethical commitment; it's the driving force behind our knowledge transfer strategy. This achievement by the UOC's O2 Repository marks the move from theory to action, turning every publication into a public asset with potential benefits for education and society," said Xavier Vilajosana, Vice Rector for Research, Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship.

Deputy general manager Ciro Llueca, who was the director of Editorial UOC until its traditional publishing work was discontinued, spoke very highly of the initiative: "Over a thousand authors who placed their trust in Editorial UOC to share their knowledge with the world have chosen to publish their books in open access. This news item is about them."

With this initiative, the UOC continues to make progress in its knowledge transfer mission, broadening the reach of its publications and establishing a more open and accessible dissemination model in line with new research and higher education paradigms.

The most downloaded and most recent books

These are the three most downloaded titles from the UOC's institutional repository:

1. Andrés, A. (2008). La personalidad (Personality), with 50,759 downloads
2. Moreno, A. (2007). La adolescencia (Adolescence), with 48,271 downloads
3. Sangrà, A. et al. (2020). Decálogo para la mejora de la docencia online (Improving online teaching. Practical guide for quality online education), with 23,839 downloads

The five Editorial UOC titles most recently published in the repository (2025) are:

1. Morales Vargas, A. [Alejandro], Pedraza-Jiménez, R. [Rafael], Guallar, J. [Javier], Codina, L. [Lluís] (2025). Calidad web. Factores e instrumentos de evaluación (Online quality. Assessment factors and tools).
2. Lozano Ascencio, C. [Carlos], Mercado Sáez, [María Teresa] et al. (2025). Comunicar la crisis climática (Communicating the climate crisis).
3. Fitó-Bertran, À. [Àngels], Peters, M. [Mitchell], Bruguera, C. [Carles] et al. (2025). Microcredenciales: transformando la educación y la empleabilidad con ecosistemas de aprendizaje innovadores y flexibles (Microcredentials: transforming education and employability through innovative and flexible learning ecosystems). (Catalan title: Microcredencials: transformant l'educació i l'ocupabilitat amb ecosistemes d'aprenentatge innovadors i flexibles).

1. Higueras Flores, R. (2025). Retóricas del cine de terror. 50 películas esenciales para el estudio del terror cinematográfico (Horror film rhetorics. Fifty essential films for studying cinematic horror). 

1. Donstrup, M. (2025). Teorías de la recepción: estrategias de análisis en los estudios culturales (Reception theories: analytical approaches in cultural studies). 

Additional information:

• UOC Open Knowledge Action Plan
• UOC Open Knowledge Policy

• UOC excels in research output and ranks above Spanish national average for open access (2026)

• Interview with Jordi Pallarès, director of the Open Science Office. (2025)

   

Transformative, impactful research

At the UOC, we see research as a strategic tool to advance towards a future society that is more critical, responsible and nonconformist. With this vision, we conduct applied research that's interdisciplinary and linked to the most important social, technological and educational challenges.  

The UOC’s over 500 researchers and more than 50 research groups are working in five research centres focusing on five missions: lifelong learning; ethical and human-centred technology; digital transition and sustainability; culture for a critical society, and digital health and planetary well-being.

The university's Hubbik platform fosters knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship in the UOC community.

More information: www.uoc.edu/en/research