Presentation and workshop by Angela Laurins and Dominic Tate (University of Edinburgh) at Repository Fringe 2014

1. Open Journal Systems (OJS)
Workshop
Angela Laurins, Library Learning Services Manager
Angela.Laurins@ed.ac.uk
Dominic Tate, Scholarly Communications Manger
Dominic.Tate@ed.ac.uk

2. OJS at the University of Edinburgh
http://journals.ed.ac.uk

3. Distributor Vs Publisher
Source: (July 24, 2014 - Source: Richard
Heathcote/Getty Images Europe)

4. 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)

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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….."

10. What Edinburgh University Library
doesn’t do….
1. Advise on peer review
2. Article layout, proof read or copyedit content
3. Check copyright
4. Intervene if (some) advice is not taken
5. Quality control of new journals or content

11. Free Vs Quality

12. 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

13. 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.

14. • 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

15. 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 ?

17. Strengths
Library as publisher
ThreatsWeaknesses
Opportunities

18. Political
Legal
Environmental
PESTLE Analysis
Library as Publisher
Economic
Social /Cultural
Technological

19. Based on the evidence, should
University Libraries be publishers?
Yes
No