Abstract
The University Libraries at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) have an active and growing implementation of Open Journal Systems (OJS), a free, open source scholarly publishing platform. But even a free software system is not without its costs, both to the hosting institution and to the creators and staff of individual journals. Institutions that wish to host OJS must be able to install, maintain, and support the product. And while faculty members and other academics are often experts in their content areas, not all of them are prepared to handle other needs associated with creating and publishing an online journal—including decisions that might involve article layout, copyright policies, graphic design, web design, and other technical issues. This article provides an overview of UNCG’s support for OJS, as well as challenges, lessons learned, and future directions related to this service.
“Help, We Started a Journal!”: Adventures in Supporting Open Access Publishing Using Open Journal Systems
The University Libraries at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) have an active and growing implementation of Open Journal Systems (OJS), a free, open source scholarly publishing platform. But even a free software system is not without its costs, both to the hosting institution and to the creators and staff of individual journals. Institutions that wish to host OJS must be able to install, maintain, and support the product. And while faculty members and other academics are often experts in their content areas, not all of them are prepared to handle other needs associated with creating and publishing an online journal—including decisions that might involve article layout, copyright policies, graphic design, web design, and other technical issues. This article provides an overview of UNCG’s support for OJS, as well as challenges, lessons learned, and future directions related to this service.