Open Journal Systems (OJS) Workshop

Angela Laurins, Library Learning Services ManagerAngela.Laurins@ed.ac.uk

Dominic Tate, Scholarly Communications MangerDominic.Tate@ed.ac.uk

OJS at the University of Edinburgh

http://journals.ed.ac.uk

Distributor Vs Publisher

Source: (July 24, 2014 - Source: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Europe)

Evolution of a service• 2009: Two pilot journals (Concept, Critical African Studies)• 2012: Two graduate student groups (The Unfamiliar, The South Asianist)

– Outline of responsibilities– Take down policy– Manage expectations

• Sept 2012: Discussions begin re digitising back issues of Res Medica• Dec 2012: Pilot journal, Critical African Studies moves to Taylor & Francis• April 2013: Register with CrossRef• May 2013: Hydra publishes• July 2013: IJDC moves to UoE hosting service• Oct 2013: Res Medica publishes first batch of digitised back issues• Dec 2013: Forum publishes on OJS• Dec 2013: Academic-led journal e-jecar publishes• Feb 2014: Academic-led Journal of Lithic Studies Studies publishes• June 2014: Res Medica begins publishing remainder of back issues• July 2014: Four journals on test (two student, two academic-led)

The role of Edinburgh University Library

• Library provides training and support• Library provides default policy text• Library responds to complaints • Library advises on copyright and licensing• Library manages ISSN application• Library has DOI prefix (registered with CrossRef as publisher)• Library advises on & provides journal design • Library advises on article layout • Library advises on promotion and marketing• Library helps analyse analytics• Library digitises back issues• Library registers journals with DOAJ

publisher, n.

1. A person who makes something generally known; a person who declares or proclaims something publicly.

2 a. A person who prepares and issues a book or document to the public, as author, editor, printer, or bookseller.

b. A person or company whose business is the preparation and issuing of printed or documentary material for distribution or sale, acting as the agent of an author or owner; a person or company that arranges the printing or manufacture of such items and their distribution to booksellers or the public; (U.S.) a newspaper proprietor.

Source: http://oed.com

Source: Cory Doctorow quoting editor, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, senior editor at Tor Books, http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/jun/30/publishers-internet-changing-role

"A publisher makes a work public, it connects a work and an audience….."

What Edinburgh University Library doesn’t do….

1. Advise on peer review2. Article layout, proof read or copyedit content3. Check copyright4. Intervene if (some) advice is not taken5. Quality control of new journals or content

Free Vs Quality

The Bigger Picture…

• OJS is one of a range of service the Library offers to support Open Access at the University of Edinburgh:– Two large, managed repositories– Numerous additional/departmental repositories

and OA collections– Managed ‘gold’ OA funds for Wellcome Trust and

RCUK-funded authors– Open Access and copyright consultancy/advisory

services

The Role of OJS

• Plugs and important gap in OA service provision – particularly in HSS,

• Provides an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of Open Access,

• Demonstrates that the Library can offer expertise and guidance in the field of publishing.

• Founded in the 1940s and become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University in 1992,

• Focuses mainly on monographs and journals in Humanities & Social Sciences,

• Increasingly interested in Open Access – e.g. through participation in the “Knowledge Unlatched” trial.

http://euppublishing.com

So, what are our options?

• We could…1. do nothing – continue to host journals as we do

now?2. start to charge for the service?3. offer the service to other institutions?4. move more quickly in to publishing monographs

using OMP?5. formalise and assert our role as publisher ?

Strengths

Library as publisher

ThreatsWeaknesses

Opportunities

Political

Legal

Environmental

PESTLE Analysis

Library as Publisher

Economic

Social /Cultural

Technological

Based on the evidence, should University Libraries be publishers?

Yes

No