Joe Williams and Stephen Dew discuss the creation of an open access journal for their library.

1. Creating an Open Access
Journal
A Case Study
The Conference for Entrepreneurial Librarians
March 11, 2011
Joe M. Williams & Stephen H. Dew, Ph.D.

2. Overview
• Open Access publishing @ University
Libraries, UNC Greensboro
• Journal of Learning Spaces
• Back story, current status
• Lessons learned so far
• What’s next
• Questions
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3. Entrepreneurism
• Project began at Univ. Libraries…
• No profits, but potential rewards
• Significant risks
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4. Library Goals & Customer Service
Values Addressed by OJS Publishing
Goals of the University Libraries
• Build and preserve print, electronic resources and other
unique collections that support the University's missions
and programs
• Seek out and take advantage of appropriate
entrepreneurial opportunities
Customer Service Values
• We must provide an environment that encourages
creativity and innovation in the delivery of our services.
• We will create systems, services, and procedures with
our customers' needs foremost in mind.
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5. Benefits of OJS Publishing at
UNCG
• Open-Source Software (no cost on a tight
budget)
• Prior to OJS, no support for faculty to
publish scholarly journals
• Library is still an information
provider, but it is now also an information
creator
• Faculty and administrators see the library
playing an increasingly important and
expanding role
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6. Journal of Learning Spaces
Topic of shared interest
Institutional history
Mix of schools and departments
ERIT commits to support OJS
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7. Journal of Learning Spaces
Filling a perceived void
Collaborative, multidisciplinary efforts
Creating on online learning space
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8. Focus and Scope
“A peer-reviewed, open-access journal
published biannually, The Journal of
Learning Spaces provides a scholarly,
multidisciplinary forum for research
articles, case studies, book reviews, and
position pieces related to all aspects of
learning space design, operation,
pedagogy, and assessment.”
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9. Focus and Scope
Learning spaces encompass formal, informal,
and virtual environments:
– formal: lecture halls, laboratories, traditional
classrooms
– informal: learning commons, multimedia
sandbox, residential study areas, huddle
rooms
– virtual: learning management systems, social
media websites, online virtual environments
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10. Getting Started
• DOAJ Start-up Guide
• One-page vision document
• One meeting face-to-face
– Scholarly Communications librarian
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12. OJS Roles
• Manager
• Subscription Manager
• Editors
• Section Editors
• Peer Reviewers
• Copyeditors, Layout Editors, & Proofreaders
• Authors
• Readers
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13. Creating an Open Access Journal: A
case study
03/11/2011 13

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16. UNCG OJS Publications
Currently in Development
• Women & Girls in Sport
• International Journal of Nurse
Practitioner Educators
• Journal of Applied Peace & Conflict
Studies
• Journal of Learning Spaces
• Richard Hoggart Society Newsletter
• UNCG Technical Reports
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17. Lessons Learned: OA Publishing
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• Faculty who have an interest in journal
publishing find OJS to be a great service;
however, only a limited number will take on the
challenge of starting a new journal
• Even the faculty and administrators who are not
directly involved with OJS view this service as a
positive and important development , and they
see the library playing an increasingly important
and expanding role on campus

18. Lessons Learned: OA Publishing
• Some of the OJS software is not intuitive, so
there is usually a learning curve and the need of
some library assistance
• Most faculty are not familiar with how to get
journals indexed, so assistance from liaisons and
reference librarians may be necessary
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19. Lessons Learned: JLS
• Give yourself time
• Use software before publication
• Lots of unknowns
– Duties
– Work loads
– Community response
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case study

21. Current status: JLS
 Scope, focus, publicati
on schedule
 Org. structure
 ISSN assigned
 CFP editors, peer
reviewers closed
 CFP authors open!
• Finalizing content
• Interactivity
• Indexing
• Marketing
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22. What’s Next
• Journal of Learning Spaces Conference
– Build on community
– Keep project active, applied
– Virtual or face-to-face?
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23. Related Resources of Interest
• DOAJ Guide to OA Journal Publishing
http://www.doaj.org/bpguide/
• Open Access Overview, Peter Suber
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/overview.htm
• OJS User Guide
• http://pkp.sfu.ca/ojs/docs/userguide/2.3.3/index.html
• OJS Tutorials
http://libguides.acadiau.ca/content.php?pid=38188&sid=280491
• UNCG OJS Homepage
http://libjournal.uncg.edu/ojs/
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24. With OJS at UNCG Libraries,
we have now joined the publishing
industry.
The Journal of Learning Spaces
is just the Beginning
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25. Wiley and Elsevier, Beware!
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