Scholarly Communications: Getting Started

OPEN JOURNAL SYSTEMS

Texas State University Libraries provides services and software that enable TXST faculty, staff, and students to publish online open-access journals. Through our membership in the Texas Digital Library consortium, journals are published using Open Journals System (OJS), an open-source editorial management and publishing system. OJS provides a professional online presence and can be used to manage some or all of the stages of the journal publishing process: submissions, peer review, the editorial process, online publishing, and indexing. Articles are licensed for reuse using a Creative Commons license.

OJS is a collaborative, open-source software project maintained by the Public Knowledge Project. It has a highly configurable system for editorial workflows with features including the following:

• Online author submission
• Blind, double-blind, or open peer-review processes
• Online management of copyediting, layout, and proofreading
• Delegation of editorial responsibilities according to journal sections
• Management of publication schedule and ongoing journal archiving
• Customizable presentation features
• Multilingual interface supporting 10 languages
• Support for a variety of reader tools, such as RSS feeds and share buttons

Interested in starting a new scholarly journal? Have ideas and want to learn more about getting started? 

Step 1: Complete the following information

• Name of journal: 
• Name and email address(es) for Journal Manager(s): 
• URL 'slug' or acronym for the journal: 
• Purpose and scope of journal (one or two sentences is sufficient):
• Plan for publication:
• Planned publication frequency:
• Do you have an editorial board:
• What plans do you have for staffing the journal?
• When do you estimate first issue?
• Is this an existing journal with back issues that must be migrated? If so:
• How many issues?
• How many articles? (An estimate is fine.)
• What platform/format are back issues in?
• Will journal articles and issues be Open Access?
• What language(s) does the journal use?  

Step 2: Send completed information via email to: digitalcollections@txstate.edu

• If you would like to try out OJS, we can setup a test OJS journal first
• Once you are ready to launch, the TDL will setup your new journal
• You'll receive login instructions via email

Step 3: Consider archiving past issues in the TXST Digital Collections Repository

• The Digital Collections Repository is indexed widely to provide greater visibility for your journal
• All items in the Digital Collections Repository are archived for long-term preservation
  • This will ensure a backup of your content in case of any unexpected disaster or errors
• Each item and journal collection has viewable statistics to show the impact of your journal
• The original journal link is included, to increase visibility to the journal and maximize impact
• To include your journal in the Digital Collections Repository, simply email: digitalcollections@txstate.edu
  • We will upload the journal issues and articles, add the description and metadata, and maintain the collection
• View examples in the Journals and Conference Proceedings Collection

1. What is meant by a "URL slug or acronym" for the journal?

• All of our hosted journals include the prefix "https://journals.tdl.org/" which will be followed by a slug/acronym for the journal 
• For example, the Journal of College and Academic Support Programs (J-CASP) utilizes the "jcasp" slug and the URL is "https://journals.tdl.org/jcasp"

2. Does OJS support assigning Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)? 

• Yes. The journal manager(s) will need a membership with Crossref, Datacite, or another DOI registration agency and there is typically a fee. For more information on getting started and using the DOI plugin for OJS, see: https://docs.pkp.sfu.ca/crossref-ojs-manual/en/gettingStarted

3. How do I ensure my journal is indexed to maximize discovery?

• There are a few options for indexing your journal. The three that we recommend are:
  • Register with the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
  • Register with EBSCO (Form for registering)
  • Include your journal in the TXST Digital Collections Repository

4. Who do I contact with questions about OJS or for technical support?

• Contact Laura Waugh, Digital Collections Librarian: lwaugh@txstate.edu