A report prepared by Professor Arsim Canolli, based on a survey of University of Prishtina (UP) professors and students about university publications, concludes that UP needs an open access digital library.

This report presents the main findings of research carried out by the University of Prishtina Publishing Council and serves as the analytical foundation for drafting the University of Prishtina Publishing Strategy for 2026–2029. It aims to identify the needs, expectations, and priorities of academic staff and students regarding university publications, and to underline the strategic importance of Open Access publishing for UP’s academic and institutional growth.

The research was conducted by Publishing Council member Assoc. Prof. Arsim Canolli, with the Council’s approval, during November–December 2024. It includes responses from 133 professors and 366 students, providing a clear picture of the university community’s views on access to literature, preferred publication formats, and the infrastructure needed to share knowledge.

The findings show strong support for developing digital publishing infrastructure, especially for creating an open access digital library, and for using both hybrid and fully digital publication formats. These results highlight the need for UP to build a sustainable, modern academic publishing system that meets international standards.

The report notes that moving toward open access publishing requires a strong institutional framework. One of its key recommendations is therefore to establish a University of Prishtina Publishing Office (BUP), which would serve as the central point for organizing, producing, publishing, and distributing university works in both digital and print form.

The report and its findings have been used as the evidence base for drafting the UP Publishing Strategy 2026–2029 (currently under review by the UP Steering Council) and for developing UP’s publishing regulations. These include the Regulation on Publishing Activities covering terms and procedures for publishing, republishing, and translation and the Guide for Publishing Activities (No. 1/911, dated 07.08.2025), both approved by the University Senate in 2025. In this way, the report represents the first major analytical and institutional step toward reforming the university’s publishing system.

The full report can be viewed here.