From: UTP Journals <[log in to unmask]>Date: Thu, Nov 16, 2017 at 12:15 PMnow available online
Journal of Scholarly Publishing
Vol. 49, No. 1, October 2017
JSP Online: http://bit.ly/jsp491
Special Issue on Open Access
Marguerite Avery, Alex Holzman, Robert Brown
The co-editors of the Journal of Scholarly Publishing introduce the second special issue of their tenure. This issue on open access publishing was undertaken with the assistance of guest co-editor Marguerite Avery. http://bit.ly/jsp491a
Traditional versus Open Access Scholarly Journal Publishing: An Economic Perspective
Julia Frankland, Margaret A. Ray
The debate surrounding open access journal publishing is part of a broader debate related to the electronic dissemination of information. Compared to print journals, electronic journals have lower publishing costs and allow for expanded access to scholarly research. However, open access publishing introduces an added cost of evaluating an ever-increasing number of published sources and the potential for misinformation. This paper analyses the traditional and open access scholarly publishing models from an economic perspective. Analysing the alternative market structures of these models can help to identify strategies to maximize net benefits in the scholarly publishing market. http://bit.ly/jsp491b
Open Publication, Digital Abundance, and Scarce Labour
Martin Paul Eve
This article examines the challenges of labour provision in the open-access online scholarly publishing environment. While the technological underpinnings of open access imply an abundance, it is also the case that the labour that remains necessary in publishing processes is based on a set of economics that are scarce: the availability of human time, effort, and expertise. I here argue, with a demonstration of some of the labours of XML typesetting, that we are unlikely to realize the transformations of an abundant proliferation of scholarship without a substantial change and redistribution of labour functions to authors, which is unlikely to be socially accepted. The resultant outputs from this process would also, I argue, be less likely to be machine readable and semantically rich, thereby conflicting with other imagined digital possibilities. http://bit.ly/jsp491c
Opening the Monograph: Lessons from Luminos
Alison Mudditt
In response to increasing challenges to both the financial model and the distribution model for traditional monographs, the University of California Press developed and launched a new open access monograph program, Luminos, in 2015. Now that Luminos is halfway through its second year, this article reviews the program's progress in addressing its three core goals: developing a more sustainable financial model, improving access and impact, and providing a digital space with multimedia capabilities for monographs. http://bit.ly/jsp491d
The Open Textbook Toolkit: Seeding Successful Partnerships for Collaboration between Academic Libraries and University Presses
Mira Waller, William M. Cross, Lillian Rigling
Libraries and university presses coexist in a complex and increasingly consolidated scholarly communication ecosystem. Each brings different strengths, values, and viewpoints that can inform and enrich a joint project. In this paper we discuss potential barriers to and benefits of collaboration between academic libraries and university presses and introduce a case study of such a collaboration: the Open Textbook Toolkit. This project, funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, is currently investigating the components needed to support faculty in one discipline, psychology, who are considering adopting open educational resources. By leveraging both library and press expertise, the Toolkit represents one model for fruitful collaboration. http://bit.ly/jsp491e
Evaluating and Promoting Open Data Practices in Open Access Journals
Eleni Castro, Mercè Crosas, Alex Garnett, Kasey Sheridan, Micah Altman
The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in attention from the scholarly communications and research community to open access (OA) and open data practices. These are potentially related because journal publication policies and practices both signal disciplinary norms and provide direct incentives for data sharing and citation. However, there is little research evaluating the data policies of OA journals. In this study we analyse the state of data policies for OA journals by employing random sampling of the Directory of Open Access Journals and Open Journal Systems journal directories and applying a coding framework that integrates both previous studies and emerging taxonomies of data sharing and citation. This study, for the first time, reveals both the low prevalence of data-sharing policies and practices in OA journals, which differs from the previous studies of commercial journals in specific disciplines.
Gold Open Access Publishing in Mega-Journals: Developing Countries Pay the Price of Western Premium Academic Output
Jacintha Ellers, Thomas W. Crowther, Jeffrey A. Harvey
Open access publishing (OAP) makes research output freely available, and several national governments have now made OAP mandatory for all publicly funded research. Gold OAP is a common form of OAP where the author pays an article processing charge (APC) to make the article freely available to readers. However, gold OAP is a cause for concern because it drives a redistribution of valuable research money to support open access papers in ‘mega-journals’ with more permissive acceptance criteria. We present a data-driven evaluation of the financial ramifications of gold OAP and provide evidence that gold OAP in mega-journals is biased toward Western industrialized countries. From 2011 to 2015, the period of our data collection, countries with developing economies had a disproportionately greater share of articles published in the lower-tier mega-journals and thus paid article APCs that cross-subsidize publications in the top-tier journals of the same publisher. Conversely, scientists from Western developed countries had a disproportionately greater share of articles published in those same top-tier journals. The global inequity of the cross-subsidizing APC model was demonstrated across five different mega-journals, showing that the issue is a common problem. We need to develop stringent and fair criteria that address the global financial implications of OAP, as publication fees should reflect the real cost of publishing and be transparent for authors. http://bit.ly/jsp491g
Adoption of Open Access Publishing by Academic Researchers in Kenya
Wanyenda Chilimo, Aggrey Adem, Ajwang' Nicholas Walter Otieno, Mary Maina
This study investigates Kenyan scholars' adoption of open access (OA). The authors used a questionnaire to collect data from academic researchers at selected Kenyan public universities. The findings of this study indicate that while Kenyan researchers have embraced the concept of OA, challenges such as a lack of mechanisms to guide academic researchers on where to publish, a dearth of funding mechanisms to cover article processing charges, and a lack of accreditation mechanisms for regional and national journals are exposing Kenyan academic researchers to unscrupulous journal publishers and predatory publishing outlets. OA advocates in Kenyan universities need to devise innovative ways of raising awareness about OA, and these universities should provide the environment, infrastructure, and capacity building needed to support OA. http://bit.ly/jsp491h
Assessing the Openness of Anthropology Journals
Melody Dale, Nickoal Eichmann-Kalwara, Sheeji Kathuria, Mary Ann Jones
This study analyses the extent of gold open access (OA) publishing options in 377 anthropology journals by applying a six-level coding scheme (0=non-transparent publishing, 5=fully OA, i.e., free to read and publish without embargo). This analysis is meant to simplify the process of identifying OA journal publishing options in the discipline of anthropology, in addition to sharing findings on some of the prominent issues in OA publishing as they relate to anthropology journals, including non-transparency among publishers and the prevalence and price of article processing charges (APCs). We conclude that publishers should be more transparent about their OA publishing options and policies by providing conspicuous and straightforward information to potential authors. Further, we find that in the anthropology scholarly communication ecosystem, APCs for hybrid journals are more expensive than those for fully gold OA journals, thus contradicting the assumption that gold OA is more costly to researchers. http://bit.ly/jsp491i
Reviews
The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking by Brooke Borel
A must for anyone who crosses the scholarly publishing path—authors, editors, marketers, and publishers of books and journals. JSP is the indispensable resource for academics and publishers that addresses the new challenges resulting from changes in technology, funding, and innovations in publishing. JSP is available in print and online.
For more information about the Journal of Scholarly Publishing or for submissions information, please contact:
University of Toronto Press - Journals Division
5201 Dufferin St., Toronto, ON, Canada M3H 5T8
Tel: (416) 667-7810 Fax: (416) 667-7881
Fax Toll Free in North America 1-800-221-9985