Electronic Highways
Planning for an open access journal
Starting an open access (OA) journal can be an exciting, albeit daunting, professional endeavor. The reasons for the OA journal revolution are compelling; readers benefit from free access and authors benefit from , as well as from . OA journals are an increasingly prominent part of the scholarly communication landscape—so much so that they account for currently being published. Still, the are debated in many academic and commercial forums, and as a matter of full disclosure, the author of this article is co-founder and co-editor of .
For readers who may be unfamiliar, OA journals are scholarly periodicals available to readers online without cost or any other barriers other than access to the Internet itself. The currently lists more than 5,600 peer-reviewed titles, and indexes better than half of them. However, prospective publishers should take note: requires significant advanced planning in terms of scope, readership, peer review, editing, platform, web hosting, design, finances and distribution.
Perhaps the most common question related to the OA journal movement is one of . Generally speaking, there are two economic models for OA journals: fee-based and no-fee. The fee-based model requires payment on behalf of the author—sometimes known as an —though that often is provided for by an author’s research grant or employer. The no-fee model assumes other sources of funding, such as institutional subsidies, advertising or membership. These differing models generally are indicative of the distinctions between for-profit, commercial publishers and not-for-profits, which usually are associated with universities or professional organizations.
Selection of an appropriate platform is critical and by far (OJS) is the most popular one for OA publishers. OJS was developed by the (PKP), an open-source development community sponsored by Simon Frasier University in partnership with the University of British Columbia and the Stanford University School of Education. OJS is just one of several scholarly communication-related products they have developed since founding PKP in 1998, but it has become their flagship product and it currently is used as the platform for .
Presumably, an OA publisher will have a good sense of a prospective journal’s scope and readership; that is its area of expertise and scholarly community. In terms of peer review and editing, the publisher may require some assistance with identifying appropriately skilled scholars in relevant fields of study. This is where one’s can be particularly useful. The subject librarian also can be of significant use in helping to plan an OA journal’s distribution methods. As an information expert, he or she can help identify the appropriate directories for listing and the relevant bibliographic databases for indexing. Albeit OA journals are freely available on the Internet, these traditional methods of dissemination are critical for an OA journal’s success.
Web hosting is another important consideration. With for-profit, commercial publishers, this service is provided. Not-for-profits may have web-hosting services available to them by way of an employer, an institution or a professional association. Still, many not-for-profit OA publishers must rely on independent hosting services and this is an essential part of their economic model. , but publishers must be wise in terms of costs, stability, technical support and the ability to generate relevant reports. It is highly recommended that OA publishers before selecting their web host.
For more functional and practical information on starting an OA journal, there are available on the free Web. Of particular note is the , which was formed in 2008 “to support and represent the interests of OA journal publishers globally in all scientific, technical and scholarly disciplines.”
—Christopher Hollister, Arts and Sciences Libraries
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