Best Practices in Open Access Journal Publishing:

A Review of Current Approaches and Management Systems

Gina Shelton Vicky Ludas Orlofsky LIS 631 December 1, 2012

Executive Summary Open access publishing models and journal management systems are reviewed to determine the best approach for the publication of the International LIS Student Journal. System features, such as file support, technical aspects, editorial management, and indexing, are assessed. Greatest consideration is given to products that are cost effective and easy to use. The final recommendation is to use the comprehensive system Scholastica to publish a journal in the simplest, most cost-effective way.

Introduction The publishing sector has experienced a rapid growth in the area of open access journal publishing in the last two decades. According to Laakso et al. (2011), the growth rate for open access articles has been 18% annually since the year 2000. As of 2009, about 10% of peer-reviewed journals had open access models (Ware & Mabe, 2009). The library and information science (LIS) community has embraced open access for publishing scholarly articles. Currently there are 135 open access journals with an LIS subject category listed on the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) website (www.doaj.org). These figures show a promising trend towards the popularity of open access and reinforce our decision to use an open access model for our journal. This report aims to provide the necessary background and details to assist our team in selecting an open access model and management system for our journal. After establishing the goals and needs of our journal, we will review the two main open access publishing models. Following is a review of six potential journal management systems and a recommendation of the system that is the best fit for our journal.

International LIS Student Journal: At a Glance To select an appropriate management system for our journal, we need to establish the goals of our journal, as well as the needs, resources, and limitations of our institution. The topics covered in our journal are knowledge organization and linked data, and we will publish work quarterly that is authored by students and their faculty mentors, at domestic and international Library and Information Science programs. While the work will be authored primarily by students, we will institute a vigorous selection process via

peer-review. The articles will be accessible through an open access model to promote the work that is being done in LIS schools, with the goal of fostering the development of future information professionals. The management system must allow us to publish multiple file formats as well as datasets that accompany articles. We want the system to be flexible and customizable, but not labor intensive. While we havent established who will manage the technical aspects of the journal, we dont currently have someone on staff that can take on this initiative. Our decision needs to be cost effective. Currently a budget hasnt been established but there is the possibility of a small amount of yearly funds from our institution, Worthington University. If the system we select costs more than these funds, we will need to consider alternative sources of income: journal subscription fees, author fees, or partnering with an association that can support the journal with membership fees. We firmly believe that the user should not pay for access to our journal content, and aim to find a cost effective way to support this journal.

Open Access Journal Models There are two main models for open access journal publishing: open source systems and commercial systems. Open source software is typically available for free and customizable by the user (OASIS, 2012, August 22). Commercial systems are provided by third parties and are available for a fee (OASIS, 2012, August 22). See TABLE 1 for a comparison of these two models. Open Source systems Free to download & use Commercial systems Fees vary depending on product & package Software provided; additional Comprehensive package that services require plugins or use requires no or few additional of other proprietary products proprietary products Need to purchase own server, Server space typically provided use institutions server, or pay in package for commercial server space Use current personnel or hire Typically part of the package personnel Websites, discussion boards Phone support in addition to and listservs websites, boards & listservs

Cost of software Services

Hosting

Coding and maintenance Support

TABLE 1. A comparison of journal publishing models: open source vs. commercial.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each model. Open source systems provide the most flexibility and control over the creation, appearance, and management of the journal. Plus, the software is free. But what you save in software costs is spent on staffing, and possibly hosting and hardware costs. To use open source software means having a dedicated person in charge of the technical management and support of the journal. This person could be someone currently on staff or someone hired specifically for this task. Open source software is not always comprehensive and may need to be used in conjunction with other systems to address all the needs of a journal. This may be a benefit; systems can be mixed and matched to create the ideal journal. Or it can be a drawback; more software requires more expertise, and developments in software can result in incompatibility between systems. Commercial systems provide the most support and are comprehensive, meaning publishers do not need to utilize multiple systems to accomplish all the needs of the journal. Most tasks are taken care of by the commercial entity, so publishers can focus on the tasks of running a journal. However, commercial systems charge fees to cover all the services provided. Since fees are not usually advertised, it is difficult to know if they are comparable with the costs associated with open source systems. The disadvantage to commercial systems is their relative lack of flexibility. Although they offer some customization to the look and feel of the journal, publishers are still limited by the organizational structure and general design template.

Features to Consider When selecting a journal management system, a variety of features should be considered alongside the goals of the journal as well as the strengths and limitations of our program. Numerous lists of features can be found in academic literature and on informational websites about open access (Co-Action Publishing, n.d.; OASIS, 2012, May 16; PLoS, 2004; Solomon, 2008) and are summarized here. Since our goal is to establish an open access journal, how content is accessed is the foremost concern. The focus is on systems that offer complete open access. Content storage is the next concern. Options include hosting the content on our institutions servers, purchasing our own server, or paying for commercial server space. Ease of use

and workflow management are important considerations as well. While we can manage the workflow in-house using software like Excel, some systems are worth considering for their management of the peer-review and editorial processes. Technical aspects of each system need to be reviewed. The amount of space, speed, and technical support of the service will depend on the needs of our journal. How the system addresses file back-ups, security, archiving and preservation will inform our decision. Ideally we want a product that is reliable, stable and flexible, that allows us to migrate to another product if desired. The system should work with a variety of common file formats like Word and PDF, and support data sets. Discovery of and statistics about our journal are also key considerations. We want users to find content in our journal, so how systems index content is important. Similarly, we want to know if metadata harvesting is available. Gathering statistics about our journal (i.e., acceptance rates, days to review) and about article downloads is important data for our journal contributors. The final aspect to consider is cost. Besides fees for software, there may be fees for staff time, server space, hosting services and more. Each system reviewed will have different fees based on the variety of services offered.

Journal Management Systems to Consider Open Source Systems Three open source systems are reviewed below. While open source software can be used on its own, often times it is used in conjunction with other applications. Because of this flexibility, a system can be expanded as much or as little as the publisher needs. The end result can be two very different websites developed from the same software. In light of this, the following reviews focus on each stand-alone system and external applications are only mentioned when applicable. A comparison of these three systems can be seen in TABLE 2.

Open Journal Systems (OJS) The Public Knowledge Project (PKP) established a journal management system called Open Journal Systems (OJS). Features of this system can be found on the OJS

website (http://pkp.sfu.ca/?q=ojs) and in articles by Lorna Shapiro (2005), and Mark Cyzyk and Sayeed Choudhury (2008). OJS is an open source system that is installed and managed locally. Besides complete Open Access (OA), publishers can create a subscription model with delayed OA. A payment module is part of the system and can charge fees for submission, access, or membership. Manuscript management is available with a completely online system that manages submissions, peer-review, editing, and publication. A variety of data formats can be imported and exported but require external plugins. Indexing is available through PKPs metadata harvester. Online Journal Systems will supply statistics about the journal, such as acceptance rates and days to decision. An extra feature of this system is called Reading Tools. Journal users can look up definitions within an article, read about the authors, add comments, and find other related articles. Another user-centered feature is the ability for users to set up email alerts. Data migration is available should a publisher want to move from OJS to another platform. If support is needed while setting-up or using the software, online help is available. Lastly, the software is free to download. However, OJS has a hosting service that ranges in price from $850-$2700.

Digital Publishing System (DPubS) Cornell University partnered with Pennsylvania State University to create the Digital Publishing System (DPubS). This is a free, open source system that can be customized by user-developed extensions. Details of the systems features can be found on the DPubS website (http://dpubs.org) and an article by Mark Cyzyk and Sayeed Choudhury (2008). DPubS offers several access options besides complete open access, like a subscription service and pay-per-view. The latest edition, DPubS 2.1, has a complete manuscript management system, which includes peer review. The program works with common file formats, like Microsoft Word and PDF, and can be configured to work with more. According to their website, DPubS includes an indexing service. They are compliant with the Open Archives Initiative-Protocol Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH),

whereby metadata can be retrieved for inclusion in databases and search engines. Also, full text can be made available to Google Scholar. No information about journal or usage statistics is provided. Help with the software is available online through listservs and wiki guides. However, the websites last updates appear to be in 2007 or 2008, raising questions about the future development of this system.

E-Journal E-Journal is a free module of Drupal developed by the user Roman Chyla. The developer based the system off of Open Journal Systems (OJS) but claims Drupal to be a more flexible system (Romca, 2006). Information about the system can be accessed through the E-Journal website (http://drupal.org/project/ejournal) and in an article by Nina McHale (2011). This system provides core journal management but the developer recommends using OJS if you want peer review management. An additional feature offered by EJournal is the ability for authors to publish their own content, when given rights by the publisher/editor. Support for the system is offered through online discussion boards. The E-Journal website has little to say about other desirable features. For example, it does not mention which file types are supported but it does mention that the system does not dictate which file types to use. Nina McHales (2011) article about the use of E-Journal to publish Colorado Libraries provided insight into other features. The system uses Google Analytics for usage statistics of a journal, and can record an eISSN. Lastly, there are social networking features available like blog posts and comments.

Product Name

Provided By & Website

Cost & Access Free; Open Access, plus subscription with delayed OA

Manuscript Management

Technical consideration

Content delivery & format

Indexing & Marketing

Usage

Other Online help; Reading tools; Email notices; Payment module; Assist w/ migration

Example

Open Journal Systems (OJS)

Public Knowledge Project (PKP) http://pkp.sfu .ca/?q=ojs

Online submission & complete manuscript management

Open source; Installed & managed locally

Import & export of data in various formats via plug-ins

Indexing available through a PKP metadata harvester

Records basic journal stats

Information and Knowledge Management http://www.ii ste.org/Journ als/index.php /IKM

Digital Publishing System (DPubS)

Cornell University & Pennsylvania State University http://dpubs. org Drupal, created by user Roman Chyla http://drupal. org/project/ej ournal

Free; Open Access, plus subscription & PPV models

DPubS 2.1 supports manuscript management including peer review

Open source; Customizable look; Allows for user developed apps

Index service Works with included; common file Compliant formats and with OAIcan be PMH; full configured text to work available to with more Google Scholar No mention of supported file types but does not dictate which ones to use

No mention on website

Online support; can be used with IR software

Cornell Real Estate Review http://cip.co rnell.edu/cre r

E-journal

Free; Open Access

Core journal management but no peer review; allows authors to publish their own content

Open source; Lots of flexibility & use with external apps

No mention on website

Uses Google Analytics

Online Colorado support; Libraries eISSN available; http://colora Blog and dolibrariesjo user urnal.org comment

TABLE 2. A comparison of open source journal management systems.

Commercial Systems Three commercial journal management systems are reviewed below. These were selected for their comprehensiveness and popularity in online publishing. A comparison of these three systems can be seen in TABLE 3.

MPublishing MPublishing is a proprietary product hosted by the University of Michigan. They offer a number of services that range from metadata harvesting to marketing. Services can be reviewed on their website (http://www.publishing.umich.edu/services/journalservices/). MPublishings focus is on publishers who choose an open access model and have library-friendly pricing models. They expect journals to be peer-reviewed, have an affiliation with academic or scholarly communities, and to publish regularly. In terms of manuscript management, this program currently does not offer editorial and peer review workflows. However, MPublishing does partner with Open Journal Systems for those services. Full-text publications are presented in HTML or as a PDF, and are fully searchable. Metadata is available on OAI-PMH and is indexed by sites like Google Scholar. In addition, MPublishing will add links to appropriate sites like the Directory of Open Access Journals and WorldCat. Statistics regarding browsing, searching and downloads are tallied. Publishers have the option to add Google Analytics to their journal. MPublishing offers other services that could be purchased in addition to the e-journal service: print-on-demand, business planning, assistance with indexing and abstracting, and publishing consultation. Fees for their services are not listed on their website.

Digital Commons A company called bepress offers the open access journal management software known as Digital Commons. An overview of their services can be found on their website (http://digitalcommons.bepress.com/about/publishing/). Digital Commons is marketed as having a quick turnaround time (a repository is built in 3-4 weeks) and customizable designs. In addition, this system provides technical support as well as tools that help publishers develop and run a journal.

Editorial management is provided with a tool called EdiKit. Editors can manage correspondence, and editorial and peer-review workflows, through this tool. As for technical considerations, this system allows uploads of any discrete file formats and converts Word and RTF files to PDF automatically. Full-text articles are searchable by major search engines and the metadata is harvested by OAI-PMH. Digital Commons gathers statistics using Google Analytics and are compliant with COUNTER standards. Monthly statistical reports, like download data, can be sent to authors. Editors can also download journal statistical reports. Lastly, Digital Commons provides other services that can be utilized in conjunction with the journal management software like rights checking and software training. Their website does not include fees for their services.

Scholastica In the Fall of 2011 a team of developers launched a cloud-based journal management system called Scholastica. System features can be reviewed on their website (https://www.scholasticahq.com) and in an article by Adeline Koh (2012). This tool provides an easy-to-use platform for setting up and running a journal. The remaining features of a journal (hosting, security, maintenance, and preservation) are managed by Scholastica. Publishers can manage all aspects of a journal, from editing to peer-review, within their web-based account. If needed, referees can be found through Scholasticas pool of users. Common file formats, as well as data sets, are supported. Articles are embedded within the browser, and publishers can include the option for PDF downloads. Scholasticas website does not address the issue of indexing or metadata harvesting. They do provide tools for marketing, like the ability to send out calls for submissions. A beta version of a tool called Beta Reports is currently available and includes statistics such as journal acceptance rates and days to decision. An additional feature is The Community, a discussion board for scholarly communication. Fees for Scholastica are simple: each submitted article costs $10. This fee can be paid by the author, the authors institution, or the journal, and support all the features offered by Scholastica.

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Product Name

Provided By & Website University of Michigan

Cost & Access Costs not listed on website; Open Access

Manuscript Management Not native to MPub; available through Open Journal Systems

Technical consideration Hosted on DXLS (a UMich platform); Preservation handled by MPub

MPublishing

Content delivery & format Docs made available in HTML or PDF

Indexing & Marketing Compliant with OAIPMH; Indexed by Google Scholar

Usage Journal stats recorded; can be used with Google Analytics Stats gathered with Google Analytics; compliant with COUNTER standards

Other

Example

http://www.p ublishing.umi ch.edu/servic es/journalservices/

Bepress http://digit alcommons .bepress.co m

Digital Commons

Costs not listed on website; Open Access

Uses EdiKit software

Development Upload any & support discrete file provided by format; DG; templates converts are RTF & customizable Word files to PDF

Compliant with OAIPMH; Fulltext searchable through major search engines

Print-onJournal of demand; Electronic business Publishing planning; publishing http://www.j consulta- ournalofelec tion tronicpublis hing.org Rights Journal of checking; Librariansoftware ship and training Scholarly Communication http://jlscpub.org/jlsc/ policies.htm l Strategic Leadership Review https://schol asticahq.co m/strategicleadershipreview/

Scholastica https://ww w.scholasti cahq.com

Scholastica

$10 for each article submitted (paid by various parties); Open Access

Includes an editorial & peer-review workflow

Cloud-based; no software to install; Scholastica handles maintenance & security

Supports Indexing not Reports data sets; addressed; BETA: embeds Publishers offers data article in can market about browser through journal with option calls for acceptance to submissions rate, days download to decision, PDF etc.

Built-in forum for users to communicate; provides a pool of potential reviewers

TABLE 3. A comparison of commercial journal management systems.

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Recommendations Selecting the best journal management system in the beginning is important, but not crucial. Many systems provide tools and assistance for data migration in the event that a publisher wants to change platforms. However, to save time and resources in the long run, it is ideal to select a tool at the outset that fits the needs and goal of the journal. A significant factor in selecting a system is cost. Unfortunately, this report lacks key information about the fees associated with commercial systems, as this information is typically not shared on company websites or in the academic literature. Without a clear budget and an established source of income, figuring out the distribution of funds for various services is difficult. Before making a final decision on software purchases, it is recommended that these factors be determined first. In the ideal situation, with a steady income to support staffing, software and hardware costs, I would recommend an open source model. This provides the greatest flexibility, customization, and control over our journal. Of the three systems reviewed, the Open Journal Systems (OJS) is the most established. I have concerns about the viability of the E-Journal platform in regards to development and compatibility with future upgrades with Drupal. The Digital Publishing Systems website has not been updated in several years, which leads to concern about its future development as well. OJS is active and popular among many disciplines and provides the most confidence in its staying power. In our current situation, with a potential but small source of support from Worthington University, I would recommend the commercial system Scholastica. This recommendation is based on the ease-of-use of the software, the fee structure, and data about the longevity of new open access journals. Scholastica is quick to set up and provides an editorial and peer-review workflow. Maintenance of the site and technical services are provided by the company, which is ideal for us, since we do not have dedicated staff to manage the site. Scholasticas fee system is such that we may not need to have funds to support the journal in the beginning. We can choose to charge authors and/or their institutions the $10 article submission fee. The fee is not cost prohibitive, so students with limited budgets could still submit articles.

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Choosing a system that is low cost and low maintenance may be wise in light of data about the longevity of open access journals. In a study by Laakso et al. (2011), the authors reviewed the mortality rates of a sample of journals from DOAJ that were active at some point between 1993 and 2009. Between 2000 and 2009 there was a drop in the number of journals still active in DOAJ: a 16% drop in journals that were converted to open access and a 28% drop in journals that were born digital. In 2006, Sally Morris reported on the activity levels of journals indexed in DOAJ. In the prior three years, 9% of the journals had not published. While we certainly want our journal to succeed, it is prudent to at least consider the worst-case scenario before investing resources in this endeavor. If the journal does succeed, alternatives can always be considered regarding pricing, platforms, and models. As for now, it is recommended that we consider publishing our journal with Scholastica. This system is the right balance in terms of costs and simplicity, while still allowing us to produce a fully accessible publication that will feature the important work being produced in Library and Information Science programs around the world.

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References
Co-Action Publishing, & Lund University Libraries Head Office. (n.d.). The Online guide to open access journals publishing. Retrieved from http://www.doaj.org/bpguide/ Cyzyk, M., & Choudhury, S. (2008, April 28). A Survey and evaluation of open-source electronic publishing systems. Retrieved from https://wiki.library.jhu.edu/download/attachments/22964/Open+Source+ePublishi ng+Systems+White+Paper.pdf?version=1 Koh, A. (2012, November 27). Build your own open access journal: An Interview with Rob Walsh of Scholastica. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/build-your-own-open-access-journal-aninterview-with-rob-walsh-of-scholastica/44398 Laakso, M., Welling, P., Bukvova, H., Nyman, L., Bjrk, B-C, & Hedlund, Turid. (2011). The Development of open access journal publishing from 1993 to 2009. PLoS ONE, 6(6):e20961. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020961 Morris, S. (2006). Personal view: When is a journal not a journal? A closer look at the DOAJ. Learned Publishing, 19(1), 73-76. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1087/095315106775122565 McHale, N. (2011, October 31). Open access publishing with Drupal. Code4Lib Journal, 11. Retrieved from http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/5913 Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook (OASIS). (2012, May 16). Open access journals: business models. Retrieved from http://www.openoasis.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=347 &Itemid=377 Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook (OASIS). (2012, August 22). Tools and platforms. Retrieved from http://www.openoasis.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=353 &catid=80&Itemid=379 Public Library of Science (PLoS). (2004). Publishing open-access journals. Retrieved from http://www.arl.org/sparc/bm~doc/oa_whitepaper.pdf

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Romca. (2006, January 26). E-Journal. Retrieved from http://drupal.org/project/ejournal Shapiro, L. (2005). Establishing and publishing an online peer-reviewed journal: Actions plan, resourcing, and costs. Retrieved from http://pkp.sfu.ca/files/OJS_Project_Report_Shapiro.pdf Solomon, D.J. (2008). Developing open access journals: A practical guide. Retrieved from http://www.developing-oajournals.org/Guide_to_developing_oa_journals.pdf Ware, M. & Mabe, M. (2009). The stm report: An overview of scientific and scholarly journal publishing. Retrieved from http://www.stmassoc.org/2009_10_13_MWC_STM_Report.pdf

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