Best Practices inOpen 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

2

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 haven’t established who will manage the technical aspects

of the journal, we don’t currently have someone on staff that can take on this initiative.

Our decision needs to be cost effective. Currently a budget hasn’t 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 Commercial systemsCost of software Free to download & use Fees vary depending on

product & packageServices Software provided; additional

services require plugins or use of other proprietary products

Comprehensive package that requires no or few additional proprietary products

Hosting Need to purchase own server, use institution’s server, or pay for commercial server space

Server space typically provided in package

Coding and maintenance

Use current personnel or hire personnel

Typically part of the package

Support Websites, discussion boards and listservs

Phone support in addition to websites, boards & listservs

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

3

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 institution’s

servers, purchasing our own server, or paying for commercial server space. Ease of use

4

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

5

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 PKP’s 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 system’s 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),

6

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 website’s 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 E-

Journal 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 McHale’s (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.

7

Product Name

Provided By & Website

Cost & Access

Manuscript Management

Technical consideration

Content delivery &

format

Indexing &

MarketingUsage Other Example

Open Journal Systems (OJS)

Public Knowledge

Project (PKP)

http://pkp.sfu.ca/?

q=ojs

Free; Open

Access, plus

subscrip-tion with delayed

OA

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

Online help;

Reading tools; Email

notices; Payment module; Assist w/ migration

Information and

Knowledge Management

http://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/

IKM

Digital Publishing

System (DPubS)

Cornell University & Pennsylvania

State University

http://dpubs.org

Free; Open

Access, plus

subscrip-tion & PPV

models

DPubS 2.1 supports

manuscript management

including peer review

Open source; Customizable look; Allows

for user developed

apps

Works with common file formats and

can be configured

to work with more

Index service

included; Compliant with OAI-PMH; full

text available to

Google Scholar

No mention

on website

Online support; can be

used with IR

software

Cornell Real Estate

Review

http://cip.cornell.e

du/crer

E-journal

Drupal, created by

user Roman Chyla

http://drupal.org/

project/ejournal

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 of supported

file types but does not

dictate which ones

to use

No mention on

website

Uses Google

Analytics

Online support; eISSN

available; Blog and

user comment

Colorado Libraries

http://coloradolibrariesjournal.

org

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

8

Commercial SystemsThree 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/journal-

services/). MPublishing’s 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.

9

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 Scholastica’s 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.

Scholastica’s 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

author’s institution, or the journal, and support all the features offered by Scholastica.

10

Product Name

Provided By &

Website

Cost & Access

Manuscript Management

Technical consideration

Content delivery &

format

Indexing & Marketing

Usage Other Example

MPublishing

University of

Michigan

http://www.publishing.umich.edu/services/

journal-services/

Costs not listed on website;

Open Access

Not native to MPub;

available through Open

Journal Systems

Hosted on DXLS (a UMich

platform); Preservation handled by

MPub

Docs made available in HTML or

PDF

Compliant with OAI-

PMH; Indexed by

Google Scholar

Journal stats

recorded; can be used

with Google

Analytics

Print-on-demand; business planning; publishing consulta-

tion

Journal of Electronic Publishing

http://www.journalofelectronicpublishing.o

rg

Digital Commons

Bepress

http://digitalcommons.bepre

ss.com

Costs not listed on website;

Open Access

Uses EdiKit software

Development & support

provided by DG; templates

are customizable

Upload any discrete file

format; converts RTF &

Word files to PDF

Compliant with OAI-

PMH; Full-text

searchable through major search engines

Stats gathered

with Google

Analytics; compliant

with COUNTE

R standards

Rights checking; software training

Journal of Librarian-ship and Scholarly Communi-

cation

http://jlsc-pub.org/

jlsc/policies.htm

lScholastica Scholastica

https://www.scholasticahq.co

m

$10 for each

article submitted (paid by various parties);

Open

Includes an editorial & peer-review workflow

Cloud-based; no software to

install; Scholastica

handles maintenance & security

Supports data sets; embeds article in browser

with option to

download

Indexing not addressed; Publishers can market

through calls for

submissions

“Reports BETA”:

offers data about

journal acceptance rate, days

to decision,

Built-in forum for users to

communi-cate;

provides a pool of

potential

Strategic Leadership

Review

https://scholasticah

q.com/strategic-

11

Access PDF etc. reviewers leadership-review/

TABLE 3. A comparison of commercial journal management systems.

12

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 System’s 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. Scholastica’s 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.

13

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.

14

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-an-

interview-with-rob-walsh-of-scholastica/44398

Laakso, M., Welling, P., Bukvova, H., Nyman, L., Björk, 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

Romca. (2006, January 26). E-Journal. Retrieved from http://drupal.org/project/ejournal

Shapiro, L. (2005). Establishing and publishing an online peer-reviewed journal:

15

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-oa-journals.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.stm-assoc.org/2009_10_13_MWC_STM_Report.pdf

16