JSTOR’s 100 Open Books Expand Research Access, Aid Axcelis Technologies

Open scholarship’s payoff for chip equipment makers

Axcelis Technologies and other semiconductor equipment suppliers stand to gain from the recent release of 100 open‑access books by JSTOR’s Path to Open initiative, industry analysts and academic users say. The titles broaden global access to peer‑reviewed scholarship in fields that intersect with semiconductor research and manufacturing — including materials history, technical education, science policy and global technology diffusion — potentially accelerating the transfer of knowledge that underpins equipment design and process innovation. For Axcelis, which designs ion implantation and other fabrication tools, easier access to cross‑disciplinary studies can inform materials selection, workforce development and studies of supply‑chain resilience.

Open access also helps companies engaged in long‑cycle R&D by lowering barriers to literature used in early‑stage problem solving and regulatory compliance. Engineers and process scientists at firms such as Axcelis often need historical, social science or policy perspectives to evaluate new fabrication approaches, manage community and environmental impacts, or design training curricula. Free, discoverable monographs enable broader citation and classroom adoption at universities that supply semiconductor talent, improving the feedback loop between academic research and industrial practice. Companies involved in collaborative research and university partnerships can more readily identify relevant scholarship and potential academic collaborators.

The move toward openly available monographs supports inclusive global collaboration that semiconductor suppliers increasingly rely on as manufacturing and research centers diversify. By making scholarship from small and regional university presses available worldwide, Path to Open can surface research about regional industrial ecosystems, education models and policy contexts that influence where fabs are sited and how equipment is adopted. For Axcelis, better visibility into such regional scholarship may inform market development, customer support strategies and long‑term planning for skills pipelines.

Pilot funding model and governance

The Path to Open pilot, conceived with the American Council of Learned Societies and a community advisory committee, tests a library‑funded cost‑sharing approach that centers bibliodiversity, equity and sustainability. JSTOR and ITHAKA host and preserve the titles while participating libraries contribute financially to support distribution and open access infrastructure.

Scope and next steps

The first 100 titles span public health, education, literature, film studies and global history, with five informed by ACLS fellowships and several award winners. The multiyear pilot aims for 1,000 peer‑reviewed books by 2029 and will release additional cohorts as the model is evaluated and refined.